Feeling Political in Public Administration: French Bureaucracy between Militancy and Sens de l’État, 1789–2019

Abstract

This chapter looks at French bureaucracy since its establishment in 1789, given that public administration is a major element of modern political institutions. Contrary to current opinion—and perhaps counter-intuitively—it is heavily imbued with emotions. In post-revolutionary France, civil servants were encouraged to develop particular kinds of feelings in order to be considered good republicans and loyal servants to the sovereign state. The design and goals of two different National Schools of Administration, one founded in 1848 and one in 1945, show how different regimes nurtured the political emotions that were considered a requirement for bureaucratic service. The introduction and the conclusion evoke how the emotional template is still a matter of heated political confrontation.