Grands corps de l'État

The grands corps de l'État (French pronunciation: [ɡʁɑ̃ kɔʁ də leta]; English: Grand Corps of the French State) are a feature of the French state as envisaged in the reforms of Jean-Baptiste Colbert.^[1] Some of these grands corps date back to the reign of Louis XV, in the 18th century, but most originated or were given their modern form during the reign of Napoleon.^[2]

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 gives the following list:^[3] 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 (ENA). They are more closely connected with politics than the technical grands corps are. Georges Pompidou was member of the Conseil d'État, François Hollande and Jacques Chirac were both members of the Cour des comptes, and Emmanuel Macron, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Michel Rocard were members of the Inspection des finances.

Technical grands corps

The technical grands corps mainly recruit from graduates of the École Polytechnique, Écoles normales supérieures or other schools such as École des Ponts and École des Mines.

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.^[4] In January 2009, a report on the future of the technical grands corps was sent to the Prime Minister.^[5]

References

External links (English)

External links (French)

[1] Les grands corps de l'État, En France, l'État s'est édifié autour d'un certain nombre d'institutions fondamentales : le Conseil d'État, l'Inspection des finances, la Cour des comptes, le corps diplomatique, le corps préfectoral, les Mines et les Ponts et chaussées, Marie-Christine Kessler, Presses de Sciences Po

[2] 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

[3] Who's Who in France, 2012, Les grands corps de l'État, Les corps techniques regroupent les ingénieurs des ponts, des eaux et des forêts, les ingénieurs des mines, les administrateurs de l’INSEE et les ingénieurs de l’armement. Pour les grands corps administratifs, on distingue les membres du Conseil d’État, les magistrats de la Cour des comptes et les inspecteurs des finances.

[4] 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."

[5] Rapport Canepa–Folz au Premier Ministre sur l’avenir des corps d’ingénieurs de l’État, janvier 2009

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