The ''grands corps de l'État'' (; English: Grand Corps of the French State) are a feature of the French state as envisaged in the reforms of Jean-Baptiste Colbert. Some of these ''grands corps'' date back to the reign of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

, in the 18th century, but most originated or were given their modern form during the reign of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. The exact list of ''grands corps de l'État'' is debatable, mainly because there is disagreement about whether a particular ''corps'' is ''grand'' enough to be counted. However, ''

Who's Who in France The pronoun ''who'', in English, is an interrogative pronoun and a relative pronoun, used primarily to refer to persons. Unmarked, ''who'' is the pronoun's subjective form; its inflected forms are the objective ''whom'' and the possessive ...

'' gives the following list: the ingénieurs des mines, the ingénieurs des ponts, the administrateurs de l'INSEE, the ingénieurs de l'armement, the conseillers d'État, the Cour des comptes and the inspecteurs des finances. In France, the members of these grand corps have great importance in the government administration, since many executive positions are held by them. Also many CEOs of French companies come straight out of these Grand Corps.

Administrative ''grands corps''

The administrative ''grands corps'' mainly recruit graduates of the

École nationale d'administration The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...

(ENA). They are more closely connected with politics than the technical ''grands corps'' are.

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( ; ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously served as Prime Minister of France under President Charles de Gaulle from 19 ...

was member of the

Conseil d'État In France, the (; Council of State) is a governmental body that acts both as legal adviser to the executive branch and as the supreme court for administrative justice, which is one of the two branches of the French judiciary system. Establ ...

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

and

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

were both members of the Cour des comptes, and

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and

Michel Rocard Michel Rocard (; 23 August 1930 – 2 July 2016) was a French politician and a member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS). He served as Prime Minister of France, Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 199 ...

were members of the Inspection des finances. *

* Inspection des finances * Cour des comptes

Technical ''grands corps''

The technical ''grands corps'' mainly recruit from graduates of the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

, Écoles normales supérieures or other schools such as École des Ponts and École des Mines. * Corps des mines * Corps of Bridges, Waters and Forests * Corps de l'armement * Corps de l'INSEE Three other technical ''grands corps'' no longer function: * The Corps des télécommunications was merged in 2009 into the Corps des mines. * The Corps du génie rural, des eaux et des forêts was merged in 2009 into the Corps of Bridges, Waters and Forests. * The Corps des poids et mesures was merged into the Corps des mines in 2007.

Criticism of ''grands corps''

The system of ''grands corps'' has been criticised from within its own ranks as well as from outside. In January 2009, a report on the future of the technical ''grands corps'' was sent to the Prime Minister.Rapport Canepa–Folz au Premier Ministre sur l’avenir des corps d’ingénieurs de l’État, janvier 2009
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References

External links (English)

New York Times, 15/12/2010, Patrick Mehr (X-Mines), France's Golden Handcuffs, The reason for pessimism about France’s future is its stifling and antiquated governmental control of every aspect of entrepreneurial life

Virginia Tech Center

United Nations, April 2006, France Public Administration Profile

Council of European studies, March 2006, Inside the Autonomous State Elites, Ideas, and Power in The Reform of French Health Policy

2010, William Genieys, The New Custodians of the State: Programmatic Elites in French Society

External links (French)

* ttp://www.hautefonctionpublique.org/fgcte/ Fédération des Grands Corps Techniques de l'État (FGCTE)* ttp://theses.univ-lyon2.fr/documents/getpart.php?id=lyon2.2007.gervais_j&part=135536#Noteftn548 … par des corps scolairement dominés…* [http://www.archivesdefrance.culture.gouv.fr/action-culturelle/celebrations-nationales/recueil-2004/1804-l-empire/napoleon-et-la-construction-des-grands-corps-de-l-etat Archives de France, 2004, Napoléon et la construction des grands corps de l'État, Napoléon Bonaparte est bien à l’origine du Conseil d’État, de la Cour de cassation et de la Cour des comptes, mais il est aussi, si l’on entend donner une acception large à ce terme, le père du corps préfectoral, de l’inspection des finances, de même qu’il réorganise les corps des mines et des ponts et chaussées]
revue administrative, mai 1986, MC Kessler, Les grands corps

Conseil d'État, 2003, perspectives pour la fonction publique

Cour des Comptes, avril 2001, La Fonction Publique de l'État

Documentation française, avril 2003, Moderniser l'État : le cas de l'ENA

La jaune et la rouge, Abolir les grands corps de l'État, X-Mines vivant au Massachusetts, Patrick Mehr compare la sélection des élites dans les deux pays. Selon lui, la meilleure manière d'encourager l'esprit d'initiative des jeunes Français les plus talentueux est de supprimer les grands corps de l'État
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grands corps de l'Etat Government of France Government agencies of France