National School of Administration (ENA)

National School of Administration (Ecole Nationale d'Administration - ENA) is a higher education institution established in France in 1945 to train senior civil servants and replaced in 2022 by the National Institute of Public Service (Institut National du Service Public - INSP). The institution operated with the aim of forming a managerial class capable of actively shaping and implementing public policy.

History and Foundation

The idea of establishing a school to train French public administrators dates back to the 19th century. The first administrative school founded during the Second Republic in 1848 operated for only 18 months due to internal conflicts and opposition from law faculties. Another pillar of ENA’s institutional heritage stems from French colonial history.

Established in 1885 as the Cambodia School and later renamed the Colonial School (École Coloniale), this institution laid a historical foundation for training administrators. Over time it adopted names such as the Overseas France School (ENFOM) and the Institute of International Public Administration (IIAP) before ultimately merging with ENA in 2002.

ENA’s modern foundation was carried out on 9 October 1945 by the provisional government led by General Charles de Gaulle, following the Second World War. Its primary objective was to centralize and democratize the selection of civil servants and modernize the machinery of public administration. In 1991, the school was relocated from Paris to Strasbourg following a decision by the government of Edith Cresson.

Education and Examination Model

ENA fulfilled a dual function: selecting and training managerial elites. Admission to the institution was based on highly competitive examinations and offered three distinct pathways:

• An examination for candidates who had completed at least three years of university education.
• An examination for civil servants with at least four years of public service experience, regardless of formal qualifications.
• A third category examination requiring eight years of professional experience for candidates from the private sector or elected officials.

Students who passed the examination were appointed as trainee civil servants with a salary and bound by a mandatory ten-year service obligation to the state. The total training period of 27 months encompassed both theoretical instruction and internships, both domestic and international, in areas such as Europe, local governance and public administration. Graduates gained the right to serve in France’s most prestigious and critical institutions — the grands corps — such as the Council of State, the Court of Audit, or the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate, depending on their final ranking.

Sociological Structure and Criticisms

ENA, which brought together political and administrative elites, faced intense criticism over the years for reproducing social inequalities.

• French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu argued that such elite schools (grandes écoles) legitimized the unequal distribution of cultural capital under the guise of merit.
• Research has shown that 64 percent of students in elite schools came from the most socioeconomically advantaged backgrounds, while only 9 percent came from disadvantaged groups.
• One statistic revealed that only 1 percent of students in a recent graduating class had parents from the working class.
• The school’s training model has consistently been criticized for producing graduates perceived as detached from society, “arrogant,” “cold,” and “robotic.”

Political Influence and the “Énarques”

ENA graduates (énarques) have played a dominant role in both the administrative and political life of France. High-ranking bureaucrats entering politics form a crucial segment of France’s political elite. Among ENA alumni are French presidents Emmanuel Macron, François Hollande, Jacques Chirac and Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, as well as prime ministers Laurent Fabius, Michel Rocard, Édouard Balladur and Alain Juppé.

Establishment of INSP

In November 2018, the Yellow Vests (gilets jaunes) movement targeted ENA, accusing it of producing a bureaucratic elite disconnected from the public. In response to rising social tensions and fractures, President Emmanuel Macron pledged in April 2019 to close ENA.

As a result of this reform process, ENA was officially closed in January 2022 and replaced by the National Institute of Public Service (INSP). Under the directorship of Maryvonne Le Brignonen, the new institute introduced radical changes aimed at broadening the social base of public service: establishing scholarship-funded preparatory classes for disadvantaged students, eliminating the automatic right of top graduates to enter the highest echelons of the state, and mandating that graduates serve in regional posts before moving to central government positions.