Considering the weight of the Napoleonic legacy, this study investigates the effect of PSM (public service motivation) on performance across the mediating effects organisational citizenship behaviour and leader-member exchange. A sample of 308 Executive Director of Services (EDS) in local governments is used to examine the hypothesized relationships. Specifically, we try to understand the resolutory mechanism existing between EDS’s PSM and his performance, including the characteristics of citizenship behaviour and EDS-mayor’s relationship. Our results showed that the link between PSM and performance is mediated by the leader-member exchange and organisational citizenship behaviour. As a result, the current research contributes to the literature by the way of revealing how PSM and organisational behaviours can affect performance in the French public sector.