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Reforming the UN, and more generally the operations of international institutions, is rarely dealt with in national debates, especially in France. Yet the functioning of the UN, its Secretariat, agencies, funds and programmes, the various specialised institutions is on the verge of implosion.Without change, one even dares to write “without a cultural revolution”, the marginalisation of the United Nations in the economic and social fields seems inevitable, to the great satisfaction of supporters of unilateral arguments and the privileged use of power struggle in international relations. Two recent reports have drawn the paths of a thorough development on the integration of the UN into the international institutional architecture. The severity of the judgement made on the current situation could give the impression that common sense reforms are simple, all the more so since the outline of these reforms is now clearly defined.The numerous deadlocks encountered make it necessary to find possible adaptations and newevolutions.