 | |
| Type | Publicgraduate school,grande école |
|---|---|
| Active | 1945–2021 (replaced by theInstitut national du service public) |
| Founders | Charles de Gaulle andMichel Debré |
Academic affiliation | TPC |
| Budget | €43.98 million[1] |
| President | Jean-Marc Sauvé |
| Director | Patrick Gérard |
Administrative staff | 229 |
| Postgraduates | 533 students |
| Location | Strasbourg andParis , |
| Colors | Blue, white |
| Website | www |
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TheÉcole nationale d'administration (French pronunciation:[ekɔlnɑsjɔnaldadministʁɑsjɔ̃];ENA; English:National School of Administration) was a Frenchgrande école, created in 1945 by the thenprovisional chief of governmentCharles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the1958 ConstitutionMichel Debré, to democratize access to the seniorcivil service. The school was frequently criticized from the 1970's onward for having built an incredibly elitist culture as well as being a stronghold fortechnocrats. As a result, it was dissolved on 31 December 2021 and replaced by theInstitut national du service public (INSP).[2]
The ENA selected and supervised the initial training of senior French officials. It was considered to be one of the most academically demanding French schools, both because of its low acceptance rates and because a large majority of its candidates had already graduated from other elite schools in the country such asSciences Po or theÉcole Polytechnique. Thus, within French society, the ENA stood as one of the main pathways to high positions in the public and private sectors. Indeed, 4Presidents of France from the beginning of the 5th Republic in 1958 to the present day (includingEmmanuel Macron) and multipleprime-ministers and ministers, studied at the ENA.[3]
Originally located in Paris, it had been relocated toStrasbourg in order to emphasize itsEuropean character. It was based in the former Commanderie Saint-Jean, though continued to maintain a Paris campus. ENA produced around 80 to 90 graduates every year, known asétudiants-fonctionnaires, "enaos" or "énarques" (IPA:[enaʁk]). In 2002 theInstitut international d'administration publique (IIAP) which educated French diplomats under a common structure with the ENA was merged with it. The ENA shares several traditions with theCollege of Europe, which was established shortly after.
In 2019, PresidentEmmanuel Macron announced he would propose to abolish and replace the ENA. Macron is an ENA graduate himself, but the tight network of ENA graduates influencing the French civil service has been decried by populist protests such as theyellow vests movement as an elite governing class out of touch with the lower social classes.[4] In April 2021, Macron confirmed the closure of the school, calling the closure "the most important reform of the senior public service" since the school's creation in 1945.[5]
TheÉcole Nationale d'Administration was formally established in October 1945 at the decree ofMichel Debré as part of his project to reform the recruitment and training of high-ranking officials.[6][7]
The ENA was designed to democratize access to the higher ranks of theFrench civil service. Until then, each ministry had its own hiring process and selection standards. The examinations for particular ministries were often extremely specialized, meaning that few candidates possessed the knowledge to pass. In addition, the narrow expertise required meant few officials were capable of serving in a variety of roles.[8]
The school was designed to broaden and standardize the training provided to senior public servants, and to ensure they possessed extensive knowledge of policy and governance.[9] Debré's stated intention was to create "a body of officials proven to be highly competent, especially in financial, economic and social matters."[10] The new system, based on academic proficiency and competitive examination, was also intended to guard againstnepotism and make recruitment to top positions more transparent.[11]
Access to senior positions of the French civil service is threefold: first, through generalist civil service positions; second, through "technical" (engineering) positions; and third, through internal promotion.
In November 1991 the government ofPrime MinisterÉdith Cresson announced that the ENA would be relocated toStrasbourg. TheCommanderie Saint-Jean, a former barracks and prison dating back to the 14th century, was chosen as its new site. The move was designed to emphasize the school's symbolic proximity to thenumerous European institutions based in the city.[12] However, though the school was officially relocated, it maintained many of its facilities in Paris. It remained split between the two cities, requiring students to complete studies in both locations, until it was fully re-located to Strasbourg in January 2005.[13][14]
In 2002, it was merged with its sister institution theInstitut international d'administration publique (IIAP), called the “foreigners’ ENA”, with the aim of increasing its international profile.[15]
In April 2019, it was claimed that a leaked speech to be delivered by French President Macron would announce that ENA would be closed as part of the solution to theGilets Jaunes crisis.[16] On 25 April 2019, PresidentEmmanuel Macron confirmed that he will close ENA.[4] In April 2021, Macron announced the closure of the school, calling the closure "the most important reform of the senior public service" since the school's creation byCharles de Gaulle in 1945. In January 2022, it has been replaced by theInstitut national du service public (INSP).[5]
Admission to the ENA is granted based on a competitive examination taking place from the end of August to November, which people generally take after completing studies at theSciences Po or anyPrép'Ena (preparatory classes for the ENA examination for people coming from universities orgrandes écoles). The "concours externe" exam is divided into two parts:
Results of this exam process are published by the end of December.
Other exam processes govern admission for career civil servants (concours interne) and for all other people, already active in business, political or union activities (troisième concours).
Following a two-year intensive programme combining high-responsibility internships and examinations, the ENA ranks students according to their results. Students are then asked, by order of merit, the position/body they want to join. Top-ranked students (between 12 and 15 students) usually join the so-called "grands corps"Inspection générale des finances,Conseil d'État orCour des comptes, usually followed by the French Treasury and the diplomatic service. Other students will join various ministries and administrative justice orpréfectures. To quote the ENA's site:[17]
Academic years at the ENA are known aspromotions, and are named by the students after outstanding French people (Vauban,Saint-Exupéry,Rousseau), Foreigners (Mandela), characters (Cyrano de Bergerac), battles (Valmy), concepts (Croix de Lorraine,Droits de l'homme) or values (liberté-égalité-fraternité).
This tradition comes from old French military academies such as theEcole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr.
ThePromotion Voltaire of 1980 has attracted particular attention, since numerous graduates that year went on to become significant figures in French politics.François Hollande,Dominique de Villepin,Ségolène Royal,Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres andMichel Sapin were all members of thispromotion.[18][19][20]
In 2011, theMines ParisTech: Professional Ranking of World Universities ranked the ENA third in France and ninth in the world according to the number of alumni holding the position of CEO atFortune Global 500 companies.
In 2013, aTimes Higher Education ranking that ordered universities according to the same metric placed the ENA sixth in the world.[21]
Fewénarques (around 1%) actually get involved in politics. Most ENA alumni hold neutral, technical, and administrative positions in the French civil service. Researchers at theCentre national de la recherche scientifique have shown that many ENA alumni become business executives in France.[22]
French law makes it relatively easy for civil servants to enter politics: civil servants who are elected or appointed to a political position do not have to resign their position in the civil service; instead, they are put in a situation of "temporary leave" known asdisponibilité.[23] If they are not re-elected or reappointed, they may ask for their reintegration into their service (well-known examples includeLionel Jospin andPhilippe Séguin). In addition, ENA graduates are often recruited as aides by government ministers and other politicians; this makes it easier for some of them to enter a political career. As an example,Dominique de Villepin entered politics as anappointed official, after serving as an aide toJacques Chirac, without ever having held an elected position. The ENA also participates in international Technical Assistance programmes, funded by the EU or other donors.
Since its creation 60 years ago, the ENA has trained 5600 French senior officials and 2600 foreigners. Some famous alumni include:
An agreement was signed in Paris on 16 October 2012 between the ENA and the Uzbek Academy of administration; it allows for cooperation in the modernization of state administration and improving skills of public servants in Uzbekistan. The first cooperation was due to begin in January 2013.[29]
Critics have accused the ENA of educating a narrow ruling class who are prone togroupthink and averse to alternative perspectives.[30] According to these critics, the ENA discourages its students from innovative thinking and pushes them to take conventional, middle-of-the-road positions.[31] Peter Gumbel, a British academic, has claimed that France'sgrande école system, and especially the ENA, has the effect of perpetuating an intellectually brilliant yet out-of-touch ruling elite. Yannick Blanc, a former senior civil servant, has also suggested thaténarques have often been too 'intellectually conformist'.[32][33]
The ENA was indeed constantly criticized for being a school perpetuating social-economic inequalities, as only a very tiny portion of its students was coming from modest backgrounds (only around 6% of students were children of laborers for example).[34]
Some French politicians such asBruno Le Maire andFrançois Bayrou proposed abolishing the ENA,[32][35] a step that was ultimately taken by President Macron in 2021.
Other mainFrench Grandes Écoles:
Other prestigious universities in the world:
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