Mediator raps state officialdom

PUBLIC service ombudsman the Médiateur de la République has delivered a stinging criticism of French officialdom in his last annual report.

The mediator, soon to be replaced by a new “Rights Defender”, incorporating the tasks of several other bodies such as the Halde (discrimination) and the Children’s Defender, has said that French public service “no longer lives up to its name”.

The mediator, Jean-Paul Delevoye, said “contacting public bodies has become complicated. They have lost their capacity to find tailor-made solutions for people in difficulty.”

“Budget restrictions” have led to a “worse, more complicated, less accessible service”.

Regarding the new “Rights Defender” position, he said he fears this title will lead to even more confusion among the public as to what is possible.

He said many people saw the Médiateur de la République, whose role is to mediate in disputes between the public and official bodies, as a generalised “complaints office”.

About half of the applications his office receives could have been dealt with by a phone call to the official body concerned, he said.

He also referred to “rushed reforms” and a “piling up of new laws” that “cloud citizens’ access to information and complicate the task of the officials”.

2011 must be a year of “ethics” and “transparency” for those in power, he said.

According to the 2010 report, applications to the mediator increased four per cent last year, to a total 79,046, of which 46,653 were acted on.

Photo: screenshot from TF1