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In the past few years, the question of state reform has become increasingly important in France. Administrative reform aimed at internal improvement of the bureaucracy was followed by reforms of another dimension entirely, calling into question the very nature of the state’s relations with civil society. The convergence of France with other European countries on this issue should not be taken for a resolution of all differences between them; however, one cannot but note the presence of a common doctrine based on the conjunction of a liberal philosophy of the state and a critical reappraisal of the civil service. A sociopolitical reading of state reform shows however that this whole process in fact corresponds to the recomposition of a complex system of institutional orders which do not all obey to the same norms or time schedules. Thus it seems difficult to discern the appearance of a “model” which would work for all actors.