For the fourth edition of the "rentrée du Conseil d'Etat", Vice-President Didier-Roland Tabuteau presented the 2025 annual study entitled “Incorporating the long term into public action”. This new publication reviews the difficulties faced by the State in planning ahead and sets out 20 practical proposals aimed at public decision-makers, giving long-term planning its rightful place in public action. It concludes a series of three studies exploring the major dimensions of public action: the geographical area in which it is deployed (2023 study), the space in which it is sovereignly exercised (2024 study) and the time period over which it is carried out (today).
In the 2025 study, the Conseil d’État analysed obstacles to incorporating the long term into public action. Firstly, due to public debate being currently marked by increased polarisation and difficulty in reaching compromises. This makes it increasingly difficult to draw up objective and shared analyses, which are nevertheless essential for defining long-term strategy.
Secondly, public action is caught up in urgency and subject to crises that call for immediate protection, which tends to reinforce a preference for the here and now. And yet, the Conseil d’État pointed out that the very nature of public action is about anticipating major trends, despite the difficulties that regularly disrupt our collective trajectory.
Lastly, the Conseil d’État noted that while long-term thinking is certainly a reality, it is inconsistent, too often scattered and rarely engaged with public decision-making.
That is why, in its study published today, the Conseil d’État issued 20 proposals to help incorporate long-term planning into public action. These proposals are organised around three key areas:
Giving our democratic institutions their rightful place in defining long-term strategies
The Conseil d’État emphasised the essential role of Parliament, a natural forum for deliberation on major collective issues, in defining long-term direction for public action. It recommended developing new tools and procedures to better achieve this (proposal No. 1), including in the legislative and budgetary fields (proposals Nos. 3 and 5). For its part, the executive should ensure that long-term challenges are taken into account, for example, by organising regular debates on such issues in the Council of Ministers and then in Parliament (proposal No. 2) and by taking account of them more systematically at an early stage (proposal No. 9). Lastly, the more systematic involvement of stakeholders, social partners and citizens is a prerequisite for the successful long-term implementation of public policies (proposal No. 4).
More effectively mobilising science and expertise
The Conseil d’État stressed the importance of science and expertise in informing long-term decisions. It recommended mobilising scientific knowledge in society more effectively, starting in schools and continuing through to public decision-making (proposals Nos. 6 and 7). It also considered that the expertise held by certain “high councils” should be used more effectively, in conjunction with the academic, university and research communities. It further recommended strengthening training in forward planning and its use within government departments (proposals Nos. 8, 10 and 12) and for public debate (proposal No. 11).
Structuring public action to anticipate and evaluate
The Conseil d’État also emphasised the need to strengthen study and research functions in government departments, in particular to improve decision-making processes within ministries and at interministerial level (proposal No. 16). It stressed that the State should also ensure the continuity of its actions over time, including by improving forward planning of staffing levels, jobs and skills (proposal No. 17) and making sure these actions are consistent (proposals Nos. 13 and 14) and aligned with the European (proposal No. 15) and regional (proposal No. 18) levels. It reiterated the importance of regularly evaluating public policies. It also recommended promoting the development of a long-term qualitative approach at European, international and global levels in line with the strategy adopted by the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission (proposal No. 19).
Lastly, to give public action the necessary stability, the Conseil d’État proposed setting long-term strategic priorities by sector, primarily in education, research and the reshaping of the labour market; defence and security; ecological and energy transition; population policy (health, demographics etc.); and industrial and research policy in the area of digital technology, particularly artificial intelligence (proposal No. 20).
The Conseil d’État's annual study: a tool in the public interest
In addition to acting as a judge and legal advisor, the Conseil d’État also has a forward-looking role. Thanks to its legal expertise and knowledge of public policy, as well as the unique position afforded by its independence and duty of impartiality, the Conseil d’État carries out studies that provide decision-makers with practical solutions that can be directly implemented.
With this 2025 annual study, the Conseil d’État concludes a three-year cycle of reflection on the fundamental dimensions of public action. After studying the geographical area in which public action is deployed (“The user from the first to the last mile of public action: a question of efficiency and a democratic requirement”) in 2023 and the space in which it is sovereignly exercised (“Sovereignty”) in 2024, this year it has considered the time frame in which it is carried out (“Incorporating the long term into public action”).
The annual study is based on a strategic approach that identifies the difficulties, sectors and stakeholders involved in each issue under consideration. It is carried out by listening to experts – through a series of five conferences and more than 200 audiences with figures from France and abroad – and by making international comparisons.