The report by Frédéric Thiriez, officially submitted to the Prime Minister on Tuesday, proposes to replace the ENA with a "School of public administration" dedicated to the training of all senior officials with a common core of 6 months followed by the curriculum by school of 'application.
The report, commissioned in April 2019 by Emmanuel Macron after several months of the “yellow vests” crisis, was initially due in November, then at the end of January.
Dissensions between Matignon and the Élysée, and the strong resistance of the large bodies concerned, in particular the magistrates opposed to a joint formation, are among the explanations for these delays.
Not a big bang
The report notes that current training suffers from "a very insufficient diversity, with an over-representation of the upper classes, a deeply unbalanced gender distribution and a Parisian quasi-monopoly for the preparation for the various competitions".
It does not, however, propose a “big bang”: if the ENA as such must disappear as announced by Emmanuel Macron on April 25, the principle of specific training for the senior civil service is maintained.
As for the “system of large bodies” which the President wished to end, it is modified but not deleted: the inspection officials (IGF, IGA, IGAS) would be appointed for a limited period, but the large jurisdictional bodies (Council of State and Court of Auditors) are maintained because their independence is enshrined in the Constitution.
A six-month common foundation managed by seven schools
The report proposes a common base of 6 months managed by seven schools (civil administrators, magistrates, commissioners, penitentiary, public health etc.), with a military preparation of 3 weeks, the supervision of young people of the universal national service (3 weeks) and finally a 4-month field internship.
After 15 days of joint teaching, the students would join their respective schools, including the EAP for future civil administrators and state engineers.
At the exit, the classification which made it possible to constitute “the boot” of the best pupils who integrate directly the big bodies like the Council of State, the Court of Accounts and the General Inspectorate of Finances, would be removed.
The entry into large bodies would not be done immediately but after two years in the field administration, then two years in the chosen institution, before a possible tenure 4 or 5 years later.
Greater room for social mix
The competition for the future EAP would make more room for social mix: half of the places would be reserved for students, the other half for professionals and a “special Equal Opportunity course” would be open for the poorest to access. different public service schools, accounting for 10 to 15% of the enrollment.
Twenty new “equal opportunities” preparatory classes would welcome students on social criteria combined with academic merit for this admission stream.
At the request of the Prime Minister, an "Institute for Advanced Studies in Public Service" would be created, "in order to provide, mid-career, part-time joint training over one year to senior officials of the three public offices, all bodies confused, as well as to the magistrates who wish it, to the officers of the gendarmerie or the armies and to the administrators of the assemblies. For its part, an “international ENA” would provide training in European questions.
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