The ministerial cabinets are growing in number and in cost. They constitute a nuisance for the good functioning of the civil service. However, there is a functional necessity for the Minister to dispose of a reduced personal staff.The suppression of ministerial cabinets would hurt the feelings of the political parties who are eager to use them as a source of power and of influence which they consider as an electoral asset. The only practical solution is to keep under strict control the number of the cabinet members and to convince the political parties that they have a fundamental interest to keep a high standard of functioning for the civil service.