Paris: France's new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced on Thursday the abolition of several interministerial delegations as part of the 'Effective State' mission, which aims to reduce government spending amid escalating public debt. "The 'Effective State' Mission has been created. Placed under my direct authority, with a small and agile team, it is tasked with continuously proposing measures for a better organization of public services," Lecornu declared on the social media platform X.
According to Anadolu Agency, the mission will review existing interministerial delegations under a "simple" directive: "abolition is now the rule, maintenance the exception." Lecornu elaborated, "On its proposal, I have decided, as a first step, to abolish three interministerial delegations, one ministerial delegation, one general delegation, one national coordinator, and one interministerial delegate position." He assigned two senior officials the task of making the administrative organization more transparent, simpler, and more efficient by regrouping, merging, and, if necessary, abolishing structures that duplicate efforts within the same area of public policy, as stated in a document viewed by Franceinfo.
Approximately 10 public bodies are expected to be eliminated in the coming days due to overlapping responsibilities, including the forestry and wood ministerial delegation, which is one among several dispersed across different ministries.
France is currently experiencing heightened political tensions following former Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's loss of a confidence vote in the National Assembly on September 8. Bayrou, who had revealed a 2026 budget framework in July, was seeking backing for a plan to save nearly £44 billion ($51 billion) as part of efforts to curb France's soaring public debt, now at 113% of its GDP.
French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu as the new prime minister, assigning him the task of holding consultations with political parties before forming his government. France stands among the EU nations with the largest budget deficits, currently at 5.8% of GDP.
Budget negotiations have long been a contentious issue in French politics. The inability to agree on the 2025 budget last year led to the downfall of the Michel Barnier government in December after left-wing and far-right parties united to support a no-confidence motion.