French diplomats have struck for one day over a Government plan to abolish the Diplomatic Corps from 2023 as part of senior Public Service reform.
The various ‘Corps’ of the senior Public Service are all to join a new single body of State Administrators, eliminating the specificities linked to each of them, such as prefects, inspectors and diplomats.
According to the new decree, aspiring diplomats will not directly join the Foreign Ministry, but are to go through various ‘field missions’ for six years.
In an op-ed published in the Le Monde newspaper, 500 diplomats complained about the risk of “appointments of convenience to the detriment of competence…the destructuring of careers, a loss of expertise and a crisis of vocations”.
Most workers in the diplomatic sector, including some serving Ambassadors, joined the strike, making their criticism public on social media.
Former Ambassador to the United States, Gérard Araud said the changes would leave France as the only major Western country without professional diplomats.
Mr Araud (pictured) said he feared American-style political appointments to major diplomatic posts.
Another young diplomat, who did not wish to be named, said he feared “the disappearance of opportunities in an already extremely narrow career path”.
He criticised the Government for imposing the changes without consultation, despite the Diplomatic Corps being ready to discuss reform.
“Constrained by job cuts, diplomats have no choice but to focus on the most important multilateral issues – such as Ukraine or the nuclear issue in Iran – without being able to nurture bilateral relations,” the source said.
“This whole movement can only lead to the impoverishment of the Diplomatic Corps.”
Paris, 4 June 2022
