This new publication provides a diagnosis of the State's issues in adopting a long-term perspective and sets out 20 concrete proposals aimed at public decision-makers, to give long term thinking its right place in public action. It concludes a series of three studies exploring the key dimensions of public action : the territory in which it unfolds (2023 study), the space in which it asserts sovereignty (2024 study), and the time within which it is carried out (today).
Through this study, the Conseil d’État analyzes the obstacles to embedding public action in the long term.
First, because public debate today is marked by increased polarization and difficulties in reaching compromises. Establishing an objective and shared statement — imperative for defining sustainable policies — is becoming increasingly difficult.
Second, because public action is caught up in urgency and subject to crises that demand immediate protection, reinforcing a preference for the present. Yet, the Council of State reminds us that the natural horizon of public action is to anticipate major trends, despite the disruptions that regularly alter our collective trajectory.
Finally, the Council of State notes that if long-term thinking is indeed present, it is uneven, often too scattered, and struggles to engage into public decision-making.