The end point of a school journey without fault

Integrate Polytechnique, be received at the ENA: for many, this is the reward of long years of efforts. The end point of a school journey without fault. The final point, really Not quite. As a last obstacle course awaits the applicants. Ultimate sanction. His rank of output. Better than a diploma, a sesame. The only able to be open only selective powerful institutions, between the end of the former regime and restoring doors: General Inspection of Finance (IGF), the Council of State, the Court of Auditors, the body of the mine and the roads and bridges. The five "main body" of the State.

If the first three recruit exclusively in "the boot" of the ENA (15 students ranked) denounced a monopoly in 2003 by the commission Yves-Thibault de Silguy, to the chagrin of the interested parties, the other two draw on a pool comprising, in addition to the best elements of X, those of normal sup, Ecole des mines de Paris (ENSMP) and the Ecole des ponts et chaussées (ENPC). But, whether it is major technical bodies or administrative, talking to a very small world. The Inspection, to the Council and the Court, promotions are 5 or 6 people. They will never exceed the figure of 15 for the body of the mine and verge on 40 for one of the bridges.

Happy elected, these five major bodies are first and foremost a great springboard. Released this year major of the ENA, Alexandre Lallet, twenty-four years, not in is still not found themselves at the Council of State: "It is as if the young magistrates of judicial order directly from the national school of the judiciary in the Court of cassation!" he exclaims. A Career Accelerator double insurance to a more rapid salary conduct: any enarque out into the boot is certain to finish his career at a level of paid significantly more than a simple civil administrator the mortals to the ENA. And all it for a few points more or less a test of public law or an internship! "There is a disconnect between the high dispersion of the positions available to students of the ENA and global level, which is very homogeneous.". From the second of the promo to me, there was only 3.5 points gap on 1,000! ", continues, with great humility, Alexandre Lallet.

Cultural exception

Hyperélitiste, direct access to functions in the State apparatus, financial benefits: it should not more that large bodies are in the opinion public many fantasies. Happy disparaged, sometimes centuries, their members are not secretly admired, especially by the France above. In a country where the diploma is King, they are the princes of blood. It refers to their privileges, their networks (see opposite). But most of the time, we know not. And one side of what is really happening their strength.

"The large body work somewhat like the offices of Council private, in which a senior consultant oversees a team of juniors," explains ENA director Antoine Durrleman, which refers to "seniorisation" to evoke this accelerated transmission of experience. Another bargaining chip, youth benefit, since their admission in the Holy of Holies of the valuable label "wide body". "Early career, this membership plays the role of a label or a"autorecommandation"." "It facilitates access to decision makers", recognizes the young engineer of the bridge Bertrand de Singly. Autorecommandation, but not insurance to be co-opted by one of his peers. "The only difference between someone who is not me and Inspector of finance, is that, if I seek an interview with Michel Pébereau or Jean Bassères, to cite them, I'll get it." But it will be me to convince my value. Will "Inspector of finance to not help another if the is not good", insists Pierre Cuneo, entered in the IGF in 2003.

Last benefit, and not least: the possibility for any employee to work in the private sector to cut bridges with the administration, according to the procedure of "lay-off". Good practice for bad password: sacked by its shareholders, as CEO automatically found its place in his original body. A "super-NAE", somehow. After ten years of availability, however, a choice is necessary: to return home or leave it without return, by resigning of the body.

Real backbone of the French technostructure, without equivalent elsewhere in the world no other aucune autre filière die of excellence, "Oxbridge" from the Kennedy School, Harvard do structure work as they do , the large body good smack of the "cultural exception". One of those that condemns globalization

Probably not. As noted with a tip of perfidy Luc Rouban, researcher at the Centre of political research at Sciences po (Cevipof): "the great body survived everything, including in Vichy. This is not the modernization of the economy or the French company who made them fear. "Either. But it does prevent: past the 30 Glorieuses, external pressure became such that they were forced to initiate a change. It began 30 years ago with their (relative) openness to women. The first of them to have been admitted in the Inspection it was in the exterior round in 1974. Since then, the IGF is well overtaken, it is true: did it not recruited last year five young women for five available seats As the body of the mine, it integrates every year since 1975, about 10 women. Better than nothing.

Revolving doors box

But this positive development is that the tip of the iceberg. More deeply, the great body of the State, like all the high French public service, have seen their scope reduced in recent decades under the combined effects of three trends: the transfers of sovereignty of the Community bodies in which they are still little represented (read below). the policy of decentralization launched in 1982-1983; the regular decrease in the number of public companies, with the privatisation. Of course, all were not affected in the same way. Core business issue. Roads and bridges was hit head-on by decentralization, privatization finance Inspection; as the Council of State, he was concerned in the first place by the appearance of a judge and a European law. But overall, there were lost.

Mechanically, the slow work of undermining of the colbertiste State whose main bodies are the quintessential was accompanied by an increased interest in the private sector. However, at the same time, the terms and conditions of revolving doors of senior officials, also, greatly changed! First, the abuse led the legislature to regulate the practice, with the creation of a commission of ethics in 1993 and the signal given by the case of Beaufret in 1996 (1). Cornerstone of the system: the requirement that any senior official monitored or controlled a private company to wait five years before working for her. "A rule which led to a too broad interpretation of the relevant economic field and which was eventually to make official a presumed guilty," said the President of the Association of former students of the ENA, Arnaud Teyssier. "A foolishly strict rule", said journalist Ghislaine Ottenheimer, author of a book virulent on finance (2) Inspection and unlikely of complacency towards the administrative elite. Many pointing the finger a perverse effect: accept the position of Director of the Agency of the interests of the State for an enarque, or Director-General of energy and raw materials for a mining engineer, is to close many doors in private. With such a prospect many, among the best are reluctant.

At the top drops completed

But if text can always be bypassed with some also evoke the thousand and one ways to avoid going to fork the ethics commission admit defeat, is different mindsets. And what are they, no doubt, the most contributed to changer since 15 years. "In Germany, a pattern, it is now emerging in business." "In France, in any State", titled "The Expansion" in January 1992. Such a judgment has become wrong. Because, even if the degree is essential to this side of the Rhine, the German model made stain of oil, as illustrated by the recent appointments at the head of groups of the CAC 40 of selected internal quadras: José-Luis Duran in Carrefour, Jean-Pascal Tricoire in Schneider, Jean-Paul Agon in l ' Oréal... They finance inspectors, mining engineers or engineers of bridges, senior officials wishing to join the company must now do so young before thirty-five years, often said start at intermediate level operational positions and shine in the group before, eventually, put forward. Finished drops all at the top of the pyramid, what began, to the 50, the "second career" of great clerk of the State. "Competition has become too strong so that a company accepts still buying gold award a well topped with address book," judge Marie-Christine Kessler, researcher at the CNRS. An opinion that sharing the headhunter Emeric Lepoutre, in command of the French subsidiary of Spencer Stuart: "running a business today, it is no longer the same job thirty years ago. Meanwhile, border fell and exploded by the stock market capitalization. "Indeed...