A Study of Animateurs as Local Civil Servants and their Professional Speciality in France

Abstract

  Animateurs have long been employed by associations of animation activity in France. In recent years, however, many local governments have begun employing animateurs. This paper analysed the meaning of the rise in animateurs as local civil servants in France. It means a prevailing of the public role of animateurs work, where autonomy and professional speciality are underlying. The findings of the research are as follows.

  1. Animation activity responds to various community needs rather than limiting its activities only to established leisure activities, and newly created civil service jobs to meet these needs. These jobs are associated with a specific professional speciality, popularly recognized as métier, having its own duties and training.

  2. Animation is positioned into the holistic services plan of the community rather than being limited to the measure divided into each by the object or a function. There, unlike functional activities of local associations, the possibility of animation based on a community is created.

  3. For a local civil servant animateurs to respond to the realities of local practice, the vulnerability of their status and professional speciality still must be addressed. To improve their vulnerable status, we pursued the question of proper adoption and training connected with occupation qualification institutionally.

  4. Becoming a local civil servant^* animateurs does not reduce the role of association. Rather association strengthens the raison d'être that association creates the animateurs' professional specialities and contributes to the well-being of civil society. Local civil servant responsibilities also develop into more substantial ones through active participation in civil society. This relationship must be recognized as percept.

  ^* ‘becoming a local civil servant’ means ‘fonctionnalisation’ in French.