Abstract: | The future of public policy evaluation in France seems at once promising and uncertain. Although the signs of development are evident-increasing numbers of evaluations, aroused public and parliamentary interest, active administrative involvement-the process is not uniform, codified, or generally rigorous. The administration itself is the chief initiator of evaluations, possessing the greatest resources, yet only in a small minority of instances are the ideal conditions of evaluation met. Strong political pressure would almost certainly be essential to move the government toward the institutionalization of an effective appraisal system. |