French civil service structural and compensation reforms

France is undergoing various reforms and reviews regarding its civil service structures and compensation. In July 2026, a series of five decrees took effect to reform the territorial civil service. This reform aimed to align the career paths of territorial administrators with state-level counterparts by restructuring grade systems, modifying step durations, and implementing new salary scales for management roles across different municipality sizes.

Concurrently, the Inspection générale des finances (IGF) has proposed a rationalization of the 543 different bonus schemes within the civil service. The IGF noted that these bonuses, which account for over 25% of total remuneration for approximately two million employees, saw costs rise from 12 billion euros in 2015 to 19.1 billion euros by 2025. The report highlighted significant disparities in how much bonuses contribute to total compensation across different ministries and identified foreign residence allowances as a potential area for savings. These developments occur as unions prepare for mobilization in late September to demand increases to the index point.