Les grands corps de l'Etat

The French State has been built around a few basic institutions : the Conseil d'Etat, the Inspection des Finances, the Court of Accounts, the Diplomatie and the Préfectoral Corps, the Corps des Mines, des Ponts et Chaussées. The grands corps hâve historical legitimacy : their functions are defined by a tradition which goes back to the Ancien Régime, and has been confirmed and even renewed by texts dating from the Consulat and the First Empire. Their power is fed by their links with the social and cultural System : the compétitive examinations, the grandes écoles guarantee élite reproduction from one génération to another according to a meritocratic model. The grands corps hâve become autonomous social forces ; they hâve managed to become indispensable regardless of régimes and governements. Their caution, founded on a theory of the gênerai interest, limits their influence. It is rare for their protean action to lead to actual policy implementation.