ABSTRACT
It is instructive to compare the role of the ‘professionally qualified’ civil servant in France and Britain and it may be possible to learn something from such a comparison. A simple juxtaposition of facts, taken out of context, may nevertheless mislead. The position of the ‘professional’ must be seen within the general structure of the Civil Service. 1 This, in turn, must be seen within the framework of the administrative system as a whole and in terms of the functions that civil servants have to perform. To understand why ‘professionals’ play a different role in the two countries, one must consider even wider factors. A ‘confrontation of cultures’ is beyond the scope of this account but reference will have to be made to certain aspects of French life which impinge on the Civil Service though they are not always thought of in this context. These differences of background do not destroy the usefulness of the comparison: they simply indicate that Civil Service reform should not be considered too narrowly.
