Storm over Macronie in the middle of the countryside presidential. The government has been singled out by a senatorial report dated March 16 on the use of private consulting firms. In the eye of the storm, the McKinsey firm is notably accused by the opposition to have cost the State very dearly and not to pay its taxes in France.
This extensive report, 385 pages, includes a lot of information. So as not to inflict this (dense) reading on you, 20 Minutes summarized the use of consulting firms in France in five graphs.
Are consulting firms increasingly used?
Between 2018 and 2021, expenditure related to external advice requested by all ministries was multiplied by 2.36, with a sharp acceleration in 2021 (+45%). Two types of consulting stand out in particular: strategy and organization consulting, which has multiplied by 3.7 since 2018, and information systems strategy consulting, which has multiplied by 5.8.
Which departments spend the most on private consulting?
Nearly 85% of expenditure is concentrated in 5 ministries: Interior, Economy and Finance, Armed Forces, Ecological Transition, Solidarity and Health. The latter, which refers in particular the coronavirus crisis to explain the increase in its expenditure with private consulting firms, is far from being the most “greedy” ministry in this area.
Is McKinsey the consulting firm most in demand by the government?
2,070 consulting firms were contacted by the authorities between 2018 and 2020, including 20 which represent 55% of the market. If McKinsey is indeed part of this “top 20” of the actors most used by the French government, it represents only 1% of expenditure, and is not the most used agency.
Does France rely more on external firms than its neighbours?
The use of consulting firms is far from being a French fad. The proof is with germany or the UK. The Senate notes in its report that “compared to other European countries, advice to the public sector appears historically limited in France”.