STATE BURDEN
Facts and figures about the weight of the French State, the number of civil servants, the production of legislation and regulations, normative inflation and the cost of bureaucratic complexity.
PUBLIC SECTOR
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT
Public-sector employment as a percentage of the working population
0
%
That’s 5.8 million civil servants. United Kingdom: 17%; Italy: 14%; Germany: 11%. OECD average: 19%.
INCREASE IN PUBLIC SERVICE
Increase in headcount in the three state civil services (1997-2023)
+
0
%
population growth of 14% over the same period
INCREASE IN GOVERNMENT CIVIL SERVICE
Increase in civil service headcount (1997-2023)
+
0
%
population growth of 14% over the same period
INCREASE IN LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICE
Growth in the number of local authorities headcount (1997-2023)
+
0
%
population growth of 14% over the same period
INCREASE IN HOSPITAL PUBLIC SERVICE
Public-sector hospital headcount growth (1997-2023)
+
0
%
population growth of 14% over the same period
PUBLIC OPERATORS
State-financed and state-controlled agencies and bodies
0
More than 400,000 employees for a total budget of 77 billion euros.
"THEODULE COMMITTEES"
Number of administrative commissions or consultative or deliberative bodies under the authority of the Prime Minister, ministers or the Banque de France
0
Annual cost: 30 million euros.
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
LAWS AND ORDINANCES
Number of laws and ordinances in force (2024)
0
EnACTED legislation
Number of laws passed during the 2023-2024 parliamentary session
0
67 in 2022-2023
LAW ENFORCEMENT RATE
Rate of laws whose enforcement is ensured by regulatory measures
0
%
Almost a third of all laws passed are never enforced.
ARTICLES of law
Number of legislative articles in force (2024)
0
articles
+71% since 2004 (56,315)
LEGISLATIVE VOLUME
Number of words in current legislation (2024)
0
words
+128% since 2004 (6,512,788 words)
decrees and orders
Number of decrees and orders in force (2024)
0
REGULATORY ARTICLES
Number of articles in decrees in force (2024)
0
articles
REGULATORY ARTICLES
Total number of words in decrees in force (2024)
0
administrative circulars
Number of administrative circulars in force (2024)
0
24.281 in 2012 (-58%)
INFLATION NORMATIVE
applicable standards
Number of standards in force
0
Normative volume
Number of words in all current standards
0
+93,8% since 2002
CODIFICATION
Number of current legal codes (2025)
0
codes
Stacked code height = 2.48 m. Reading time = 98 days.
LABOR CODE
Number of articles in force in 2024
0
articles
+224% since 2002. There were 600 articles in 1973, 5,131 in 2004.
COMMERCIAL CODE
Number of articles in force in 2024
0
articles
1,970 in 2004 (+269%)
Environmental CODE
Number of articles in force in 2024
0
articles
2,068 in 2004 (+241%)
CONSUMER CODE
Number of articles in force in 2024
0
articles
647 in 2004 (+235%)
PUBLIC HEALTH CODE
Number of articles in force in 2024
0
articles
6,494 in 2004 (+109%)
COST TO BUSINESS
Estimated annual cost of normative excess in 2022
0
billion €
COST TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES, PUBLIC SERVICES AND PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS
Estimated annual cost of normative excess in 2022
0
billion €
bureaucratic complexity
TAX COMPETITIVENESS
France’s ranking in the 2025 International Tax Competitiveness Index of the Tax Foundation
0
th
out of 38 countries
France slipped to the last position, after ranking 36th in 2024.
INDEX OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM
France’s ranking in the Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Index of Economic Freedom
0
rd
Singapore, Switzerland and Ireland are on the world podium. Denmark (7th), Netherlands (10th) Sweden (12th), Germany (22nd), Portugal (25th), United States (26th), Japan (28th), United Kingdom (33rd). France is behind Vietnam (61st). Out of the 44 countries in the Europe region, France is 31st.
ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLEXITY
Number of active regulated administrative forms in France for companies and individuals
0
BURDEN OF FORMALITIES
Estimated number of administrative authorisation applications and mandatory declarations
0
BUREAUCRATIC BURDEN
France’s ranking in the World Economic Forum World Outlook (2021)
0
nd
COST OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE "MILLEFEUILLE"
Estimated annual cost of overlapping responsibilities between the State and local authorities
0
.5
billion €
Local fragmentation
Number of French communes as a proportion of the European Union total
0
.8%
Of the total 92,247 municipalities in the 28 EU countries, 38% were located in France in 2026.
MUNICIPALITIES
Number of municipalities across the country (2026)
0
Germany = 10,795 municipalities for 84 million residents; Italy = 7,904 municipalities for 60 million residents.
SMALL MUNICIPALITIES
Percentage of municipalities with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants
0
,3%
As of January 1, 2026, France had 24,864 municipalities with fewer than 1,000 residents.
VERY SMALL MUNICIPALITIES
Percentage of municipalities with fewer than 500 inhabitants (2026)
0
,4%
As of January 1, 2026, France had 18,269 municipalities with fewer than 500 residents. One in five municipalities in the European Union is a French municipality with fewer than 500 residents.
Sources: Ministry of the Economy, Senate Information Report No. 743 on simplification (2023), ‘Giving hours back to the French: 14 measures to simplify life for our businesses’, report by members of parliament to the government (15 February 2024), Secretariat General of the Government (DILA), Indicators for monitoring standard-setting activity); Ravignon report, 2024, National Assembly; FIPECO; Ministry of the Civil Service; World Economic Forum; Heritage Foundation, Legifrance, Standard statistics 2025.