French architecture firms are struggling with deteriorating working conditions as public contract bidding processes become increasingly complex and time-consuming, according to Denis Dessus, former president of the National Council of the Order of Architects. The architect, who led the national organization from 2017 to 2021, warns that the profession faces multiple challenges including eroding fees, loss of influence in public commissioning, and unsustainable administrative burdens.
Dessus, a licensed architect based in Privas, Ardèche, and founder of his own firm, has been a vocal advocate for his profession's role in society. In a recent tribune published in summer 2025, he denounced the continuous degradation of architects' working conditions in France, highlighting what he calls a "dizzying erosion of 30% in constant euros" over nearly two decades despite apparent stability in annual revenues.
"We're seeing a very significant erosion of income in constant euros within the profession," Dessus explained in an interview. "This phenomenon is reversed at the European level, so we're dealing with a specifically French problem. The economic situation and conditions of architectural production have deteriorated." He dismissed suggestions that declining revenues could be attributed to increased feminization of the profession, calling it "another subject that has no connection to the volume of commissions and the overall amount of fees generated by the missions carried out by the profession."
The architect identified multiple causes for the profession's declining conditions, primarily stemming from increasingly unbalanced contracts that favor project owners over architects. Legal and regulatory changes have contributed significantly to this imbalance, with the ELAN law dismantling parts of the MOP law (relating to public project ownership and its relationships with private project management) by exempting social housing production from competition requirements.
"The procedures for awarding contracts are increasingly questionable, many are borderline," Dessus noted, though the full details of his analysis were cut off in the original publication due to subscription restrictions. The architect's concerns reflect broader challenges facing the French architecture industry as firms struggle to maintain financial viability while navigating ever-more complex administrative requirements.
The issues raised by Dessus highlight a critical moment for French architecture, as professionals grapple with economic pressures that threaten the sustainability of independent practices. His analysis suggests that systemic changes in public procurement processes and legal frameworks have created an environment where architects face diminishing returns despite increased workloads and responsibilities, potentially impacting the quality and diversity of architectural services available to French clients and communities.
