Politics · France · 10 hrs ago
INSP examiners say candidates lack knowledge of France’s political history
The head of the juries for France’s 2026 INSP entrance exams says many candidates have weak knowledge of the country’s political history.
The INSP trains people for senior roles in the French public service and was formerly known as the ENA.
In a report published on October 30, jury president Philippe Mahé said candidates often could not identify presidents or place them correctly in the past 60 years.
Examiners said many candidates focused on recent events and failed to connect them to the history of the Fourth and Fifth Republics.
They said historical knowledge helps candidates put current events in perspective, including the political deadlock after the 2024 dissolution of the National Assembly.
The criticism matters because these exams select people for senior positions in the French state.
The report calls for candidates to combine knowledge of current affairs with a longer historical perspective.
Examiners for France’s National Institute of Public Service (INSP) say many candidates lack knowledge of major events in the country’s political, economic and social history.
The finding appears in a report on the 2026 entrance exams, published on 30 October.
Philippe Mahé, who chaired the exam juries, said many candidates focus too much on recent events and fail to place them in a broader historical context.
The report says some candidates could not identify a president and place that president correctly within the past 60 years.
Examiners said candidates should know current affairs but also have a longer historical perspective.
- Who
- Philippe Mahé and examiners for the INSP entrance exams.
- What
- They reported that many candidates lack knowledge of France’s recent political, economic and social history.
- When
- The report on the 2026 entrance exams was published on 30 October.
- Where
- France.
- Why
- The examiners said candidates need historical context to assess recent events and the workings of the French state.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Philippe Mahé’s report on the 2026 INSP entrance exams was published.
Candidates sat the external exam, whose contemporary-issues topic was whether the democratic nature of the state makes it powerless.
- Institution
- Institut national du service public (INSP), formerly ENA
- Report date
- 30 October
- Exam year
- 2026
- Exam jury president
- Philippe Mahé
- Contemporary-issues topic
- La nature démocratique de l’Etat le rend-elle impuissant?
What people are saying
Je déplore, après mes prédécesseurs, la méconnaissance par un trop grand nombre de candidats des faits majeurs de l’histoire politique, économique et sociale de la IVe et de la Ve République.