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Grands corps de l'État

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The grands corps de l'État (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, in the 18th century, but most originated or were given their modern form during the reign of Napoléon I.

Contents

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: 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.

Administrative "grands corps" (staffed from the École nationale d'administration)

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 (listed below) are. François Hollande and Jacques Chirac were both members of the Cour des comptes, and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Michel Rocard were both members of the Inspection des finances.

  • Conseil d'État
  • Inspection des finances
  • Cour des comptes
  • Technical "grands corps" (staffed from the École polytechnique and ENS)

    The technical grands corps mainly recruit (more than 2/3 by decree) from among graduates of the École polytechnique. Their ranks are also open to alumni of the Écoles normales supérieures, or other schools such as École des Ponts and École des Mines.

  • Corps des mines
  • Corps des ponts
  • 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 des ponts.
  • The Corps des poids et mesures was merged into the Corps des mines in 2007.
  • Criticism of the "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.

    References

    Grands corps de l'État Wikipedia