Grands corps de l'État


The grands corps de l'État 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 Napoleon.
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.
In France, the members of these grand corps have great importance in the government administration, since many executive positions are held by them. Many senior corporate executives 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. 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.
  • Conseil d'État
  • Inspection des finances
  • Cour des comptes

    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 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.