No need for a chainsaw like the one wielded by the Argentine president, Javier Milei. In 2024, political turbulence was enough to significantly slow down standard activity in France. Over the course of the year, only 39 laws were enacted (excluding international treaty ratifications), according to Le Monde's tally. That is 30% less than the previous year and 42% less than in 2021, a record year for legislative production. The number of new laws fell to one of the lowest levels of France's Fifth Republic, similar to 2017, a year disrupted by the presidential election. It marks a clear pause in the "legislative inflation" and "proliferation" long criticized, particularly by the right.

The decline was not limited to just laws. When including ordinances, decrees, orders, circulars, etc., the total number of texts published in the government gazette, the Journal Officiel, decreased by 6% in 2024, according to government data. With a total of 31,662 texts – primarily issued by the labor, health and justice ministries – France's regulatory output dropped to its lowest level in 10 years. It peaked at nearly 40,000 texts in 2021. "It is not yet a reduction in the stock" of standards "but disinflation is always welcome," said Claire Landais, the government's secretary general, during a debate in the Sénat on Thursday, April 3.

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