For years the public administration has evoked the mantra of meritocracy, with great difficulty in concretely introducing it. This makes the public sector less attractive for more qualified people on the labor market, and produces a gradual demotivation of public employees. The attempt to introduce more meritocracy in the public administration has been reduced to the often distorted use of monetary incentives. A true shift in this direction would instead require credible action integrated across all elements of personnel management: recruitment, selection, pay raises, promotions, mobility, appointments, and non-monetary recognition.#The lead actors of a true shift towards meritocracy must be the managers; but they must be put in a position to strengthen their managerial skills.