Strike disturbs the French government during the full campaign for the legislative elections held on June 12 and 19. Is the issue about teachers? Healthcare workers? Veteran railroad staff? No, it concerns discreet diplomats from Quai d’Orsay. For the second time in history, ambassadors, consuls, and other officials are suspending work this Thursday. In recent years they have protested the shrinking of diplomatic forces and the erosion of diplomacy’s human and economic resources.
The spark was a decree published in the official bulletin on April 17, amid the presidential runoff campaign. It approved the suppression of two elite diplomatic bodies: plenipotentiary ministers and foreign affairs advisers. Until now, these were the senior officials responsible for embassy postings. The Centrist administration justifies the move as part of a wider civil-service reform aimed at increasing mobility for senior officials. Critics warn that the reform could pave the way for appointments of ambassadors and consuls based on political or personal connections.
Risk of “professional diplomacy disappearing”
Although it would affect about 900 of the 13,700 state officials, the reform triggered widespread outrage. The planned strike drew significant attention. At least 10 ambassadors, including those posted to Oman, Kuwait, and Cyprus, indicated they would participate, along with consuls, senior foreign-service officials, and many junior staff. In recent days, the hashtag diplo2metier gained traction on social media as supporters explained their reasons for resigning from the profession or advocating for diplomatic careers.
“We are at risk” became a refrain for a group of 500 or so young Foreign Ministry staff who, with several unions, mobilized to oppose the reform. They argued that diplomacy depends on long-term learning and the accumulation of international experience and challenging postings.
The reform would remove top categories of officials from ambassadorial posts, replacing them with a broader “body of state administrators.” This would bring together a range of senior officials, including government delegates and finance inspectors, who would be encouraged to move between ministries and between the public and private sectors.
“Abandoning this reform is vital because it would fundamentally alter the diplomatic corps. The best posts could be awarded for non-diplomatic reasons,” warned a former French foreign minister who had opposed past interventions. The controversy also touched past tensions around appointments, including a proposed consul appointment that sparked unrest within the Quai d’Orsay.
“Bad relations” with ambassadors
Facing criticism, the Macron administration defended the move by noting that the prestigious opposition from the East would not be suppressed and that ambassadors would still be appointed by the Foreign Minister. A softening signal was sent as well, indicating that the new minister, Catherine Colonna, a career diplomat who previously served as ambassador in London, would oversee the process.
While reform measures represent a typical neoliberal approach to deregulating a public sector, critics argue that the reform serves a political objective. “The aim is not to create mobility between ministries but to consolidate political control. This reveals strained relations between the Élysée and the Quai d’Orsay,” commented an ambassador to a digital outlet. Previous remarks from the president in 2019, criticizing a so-called “deep state” within international circles, fueled concerns about future policy directions and the handling of relations with key partners, including Russia.
In recent years, the concentration of French foreign policy in the presidency and its inner circle has grown at the expense of the Quai d’Orsay. France maintains one of the world’s largest diplomatic networks, with 178 embassies and 88 consulates, but it has faced a substantial reduction in personnel over the last decade. Much of this contraction occurred after 2010.
The decline in resources and the sense of abandonment among ambassadors coincided with a perceived waning of France’s global influence. The period saw a string of international-policy setbacks, from Mali to Lebanon, Syria, and Libya. The current strike unfolds amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and during the final year of France’s presidency of the European Union, a timing that has drawn additional scrutiny and criticism.