Le Médiateur de la République : Périmètre et autonomisation d'une institution

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyse the evolution of the previous French Ombudsman, from the angle of institutional sociology, laying a special emphasis on the barely perceptible changes by which this institution has broadened its set of competences and diversified its scope of action while gradually increasing its independence through a complex series of close/loose ties with the administrative authorities. In the first part, the paper describes how the institution widened its scope of intervention due to the combined effect of two factors: its interaction with users and its own initiatives. In the second part, we show that although the institution has managed to achieve a greater degree of independence from various political authorities (parliament, prefecture), ironically, it needs the backing of the administration without which it will be perceived as being ineffective.