“I want us to set up this house which would be called “France services”, where, in each canton, we might have a place where the reception for the public of State services would be grouped. But we propose to local authorities to be also present there and to all operators. » Thus Emmanuel Macron formulated, in April 2019, his response to the criticisms of the decline in public services in rural areas expressed during the great national debate which followed the demonstrations of the “yellow vests”.
The government then launched the Rural Agenda, an action plan of 181 measures, including the commitment to deploy 2,000 to 2,500 France services spaces by the end of the five-year period, accessible to everyone in less than thirty minutes. Local counters giving access, in a single location, to nine national partners: Ministries of the Interior and Justice, General Directorate of Public Finances, Pôle Emploi, Retirement Insurance, Health Insurance, Family Allowances, Agricultural Social Mutuality , The post office. To which can be added other local partners. The France services houses are mainly supported by local authorities, but also by La Poste or by associations.
If the president said he was inspired by a Canadian concept and advocated a return to public services, he was not starting from a blank sheet. Although suffering from modest visibility – due to name changes over the past twenty years – and uneven quality of service and attendance, there were already 1,676 Public Service Centers (MSAP), open or In progress. Which already offered, in a single place, support for the procedures, with fewer agents and partners nevertheless. The step was therefore not so high to reach 2,500.
” Upgrade to a higher range “
However, the objective of France services is not only quantitative: “More accessible and enhanced services, simplified procedures, better identification”, argues the Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Jacqueline Gourault. By increasing the number of structures, on the one hand, and by making ” upgrade to a higher range “ the existing MSAPs, on the other hand, with the presence of at least two trained agents, an opening to the wider public and more numerous partners – conditions for obtaining the label and the subsidy from the State and the operators of 30,000 euros.
Assessment, in January 2022: “2,055 France services have been labeled and the 2,500 mark will be kept”, assures the minister. Among them, 1,024 are old MSAPs, 1,031 are ex nihilo creations. Some MSAPs did not apply for the label. Two-thirds of these France services are located in rural areas, the remaining third in urban areas, including 15% in priority neighborhoods for city policy (QPV). As for the territorial coverage, in practice, it will not be a structure per canton, but 1,501 cantons covered (out of 2,089) by the end of 2022: “We have prioritized under-equipped areas and discarded those already well-equipped, as may be the case in urban cantons”, explains the ministry, preferring to highlight the benchmark “more talking” less than thirty minutes of access. “He will be held”, promises the Minister, also highlighting an increased volume of activity.
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