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In looking at the rationalizing budgetary choices, “Renewal of the public service system,” LOLF, RGPP, and nowadays, MAP from the 1960s up until today, the evaluation of public policies has addressed an ongoing need that is constantly being reinvented, namely improved governance of public action. Despite this, the concept of evaluation has faced a challenging situation in France characterized by the fragile institutionalization of this concept, both ever-changing and inconsistent. In order to explain this irregular path, four main issues are discussed from a sociohistorical perspective: evaluation as a method for legitimization and countervailing, as a factor in the improved application of public programs, as a tool for promoting sectoral policies, and as a means for optimizing public expenditure.