A report published this spring by France's Cour des comptes highlights major challenges in assessing the impact of 316 billion euros spent each year on cohesion and territorial development. This funding covers a wide range of activities, including projects managed by municipalities, departments, regions, the central government, and its agencies. Additionally, nearly 15 billion euros in tax incentives are used to guide investments toward specific areas. Despite this large investment, economic disparities between regions remain significant, with GDP per person varying from 32,652 euros in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté to 69,288 euros in Île-de-France. The report explains that the problem is not with the accuracy of public financial records, which are described as thorough and standardized. Instead, the issue lies in the absence of a unified method for measuring the real impact of these expenditures. While local authorities manage their accounts carefully, there is no shared system for tracking how funds are used across the country. This lack of coordination leads to significant double-counting, especially through cross-subsidies. For example, if a department provides funding to a commune for a school or road, the same amount is recorded in both the department’s and the commune’s budgets, creating misleadingly high overall figures. To address these issues, the Cour des comptes suggests guaranteeing a minimum set of essential public services in all areas and creating shared tools to monitor the real effects of territorial policies. A budget reform is currently being implemented, aiming to simplify financial reporting starting with the 2026 budget cycle. This reform would replace the main budget and administrative accounts with a single financial account. However, this change does not resolve the fundamental problem identified by the report: the inability to compare expenditures across different levels of government due to the lack of a common framework or language. The report raises a broader question about how public funds are directed in France, pointing out the complexity of a system where policies often overlap without a clear overall strategy. The Cour des comptes calls for a shift in both culture and technical practices to develop a truly coherent national approach. This would allow for a better understanding of how territorial policies affect real outcomes, rather than just focusing on the total amount of money spent. The report concludes that simply spending large sums does not ensure effectiveness, and without a shared way to measure results, the 316 billion euros invested annually in French territories will remain difficult to assess and understand.