France

A Prominent Facet of French Life

As in any other country, social networks play a major role in French society. French sociologist Michel Grossetti observes that compared to North American social networks, French networks rely more on kinship ties and are characterized by greater social support in the form of a bigger average number of companionship relations per individual. This confirms a previous study by Alexis Ferrand, Lise Mounier, and Alain Degenne, which showed that while French social categories and classifications are more stable than elsewhere, many links cut across these categories. In other words, while French social networks are very hierarchical, there are connections across the levels of this hierarchy that enable French society to be well connected. Other significant differences can be found in elite business and political networks.

Elite alumni networks play a central role in the formation of French business and political networks. As noted by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, the French elite is very cohesive. It originates primarily from French Grandes Écoles, elite higher-education institutions that one can only attend after passing a national competitive examination. These competitive examinations are prepared in classes préparatoires (preparatory classes) that are affiliated with lycées (high schools) and not universities. Attending a classe préparatoire takes the form of a two-to-three-year stint of intense interdisciplinary training. Prestigious French high schools that traditionally feed Grandes Écoles include Lycées Louis-le-Grande and Henri IV, both located in the Latin Quarter in Paris. Grandes Écoles are independent from French universities and are, for the most part, Paris-based. They include engineering schools such as the École Polytechnique or the École des Mines; business schools such as HEC or ESSEC; and other institutions such as the Écoles Normales Supérieures (specialized in research) or Sciences Po and the École Nationale [Page 296]d'Administration (ENA), which traditionally prepare students for careers in the French public administration and ultimately in business.

In a study of French CEOs, French sociologist François-Xavier Dudouet shows that Grandes Écoles play a central role in French capitalist networks. His study focused on the 95 CEOs of the companies quoted on the French stock index CAC 40. Of the 80 CEOs of French origin, 23 attended the École Polytechnique; 16, the ENA; 6, both schools; and 16, either ESSEC or HEC, 6 adding the ENA on their resume. Other circles of French society are also characterized by the influence of Grandes Écoles. In academia, normaliens (considered civil servants in training) who attended one of the four Écoles Normales Supérieures, in Paris, Cachan (near Paris), or Lyon (where two of them are located), constitute a strong and influential network that populates research and teaching positions.

In many ways, French elite alumni networks are very similar to their English and American counterparts centered on the Oxbridge and Ivy League universities, respectively. However, there are two key differences. First, French elite alumni networks tend to be smaller because of the small size of the Grandes Écoles; for example, while there are around 13,500 École Poly-technique alumni, there are 300,000 Harvard alumni around the world. Second, the access to French Grandes Écoles is granted through a competitive examination, which is believed to be meritocratic, even though most sociological studies show that Grande Écoles positions are attended by upper-class students.

...