French diplomats went on strike Thursday for the first time in 20 years to protest against reforms and budget cuts proposed by President Emmanuel Macron. The unusual strike action is a symptom of the simmering problems that have been affecting France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in recent years as diplomats deal with existential questions about their shifting role.
In a rare occurrence at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, known in France as the Quai d’Orsay, six unions and a group of 500 young diplomats called a strike for June 2 to protest against Macron's reforms, which would change the structure of diplomatic careers. Many of those striking believe that this would mean "the end of French professional diplomacy”. The country has the world's third-largest diplomatic network behind the United States and China, with some 1,800 diplomats and about 13,500 officials working at the ministry.
The new measures would create a new body of state administrators in which senior civil servants will no longer be attached to a specific administration. Instead, they will be asked to change administrations regularly throughout their careers, including shifting from one ministry to another. The reforms will also lead to the merging and gradual phasing out of the two historic bodies of French diplomacy: ambassadors and foreign affairs advisers.
The strike comes at a bad time for the recently re-elected Macron, who has sought to play a leading role in the European Union's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Ministry officials have said the reforms will preserve the diplomatic profession and careers. Yet the framework of the reform, which is still unclear, does not satisfy the worried diplomats, who are also concerned about years of budget cuts that have seen staffing fall some 20% since 2007.
"This reform is a mistake because it undermines our professional expertise," said a diplomat in Paris who requested anonymity due to professional confidentiality.
"Our profession is one that we learn over time and through our experiences on the ground," the diplomat added. "My skills consist in having a thorough knowledge of a geographical area, as well as the foreign languages I speak. I am not going to become a prefect. We are not interchangeable.”
'Diplomacy is for professionals, not improvisers'
Numerous diplomats announced their intention to strike or expressed their solidarity with the strikers on Twitter using the hashtag #Diplo2metier (professional diplomat). The grassroots movement has spread to the upper echelons of the Quai d’Orsay, and even attracted the support of many senior officials and ambassadors.
"Dialoguing with nearly 200 states in their languages, negotiating, preserving peace – diplomacy is for professionals, not improvisers," wrote Anne Guéguen, Director of North Africa and the Middle East at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Twitter.
"I will strike on June 2. Diplomacy brings together a range of professions which are all specific and learned over time. It is a vocation," said Philippe Bertoux, Director of Strategic Affairs, Security and Disarmament at the Ministry.
"I will be on strike on June 2 to protest against the reform of the diplomatic corps and the ongoing cuts to the resources of our diplomacy. The return of war in Europe underlines the importance of a strong French diplomacy in the service of French and European interests", tweeted Claire Le Flécher, French ambassador to Kuwait.
"Emmanuel Macron's objective is to create more mobility between administrations. This is in itself a principle of common sense, but the problem is that it relies on a generalist administration, whereas for certain professions, specialists are needed. Being a diplomat is not a job that you take on without thinking about its implications, in terms of your personal life or training," explains Christian Lequesne, a professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies and a specialist in French foreign policy.
'We have witnessed the unravelling of this ministry for years'
Beyond the current reforms, the strike also reflects deeper concerns among French diplomats. In an article published in the French daily Le Monde on May 25, the collective of 500 young diplomats expressed concern about a "staggering reduction in resources" (50% of the workforce has been cut in 30 years) and "decades of marginalising the role of the ministry within the state”.
“We have witnessed for years now the unravelling of this ministry through a reduction in resources, but also as certain aspects of our work have been entrusted to others," explains the diplomat quoted above, who requested anonymity.
"It is all the more frustrating, because we do this job at the cost of many personal sacrifices. We work 14 hours a day, and the consequences of the workload on our personal lives, when we have a family and must go abroad, are sometimes difficult to handle. The image the general public has of the ambassador is someone who spends all their time at high-society functions, but that's not what our job is about.”
"It's true that society is still very much stuck on the cliché of the 'Ferrero Rocher' diplomat," says Lequesne.
"The French don't realise that this is a job where you have to manage crises and where civil servants, who are extremely committed, don't count their hours. There is therefore a feeling of injustice about how their profession is perceived".
Testimonies from several diplomats also raise the question of how to define the diplomat’s mission. In France, many other actors are now involved in diplomacy, notably the Ministry of Economy for trade and financial negotiations, the Ministry of Defence with military diplomats specialised in negotiation, and the French Development Agency (AFD) regarding the development aid that France provides around the world.
"These developments are contributing to a certain existential self-questioning among diplomats. But these questions surrounding the diplomat’s role can also be found in quite a few countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Brazil. This is linked to the evolution of international relations and the multiplication of diplomatic actors over the past twenty years," explains Lequesne, who believes that there must be greater reflection on the role of the diplomat in 2022.
France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who has recently welcomed as minister Catherine Colonna, a career diplomat whose appointment was interpreted as a "message" to the staff, says it has "established a quality working relationship" with all the trade unions.
The strike is expected to be followed closely by the minister and the Élysée Palace, as the angry diplomats hope to gather enough support to force Emmanuel Macron to reconsider his plan.
This article has been translated from the original in French.
