Four out of eleven senior civil servants

The École nationale d'administration (ENA) is traditionally presented as the royal road to power. But of the eleven candidates in the 2017 presidential election, only four attended this school for senior civil servants created in 1945.

François Asselineau : the president of the Union républicaine populaire is also a graduate of the École des hautes études commerciales (HEC).

Jacques Cheminade : founder of Solidarité et progrès, he is also an HEC graduate with a law degree.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan : the Debout la France candidate is also a graduate of Sciences Po Paris. He also holds a law degree and a post-graduate diploma (DESS) in business and financial market management from Paris-Dauphine University.

Emmanuel Macron : after two years of preparatory classes at the lycée Henri-IV in Paris, the leader of En Marche! earned both a master's degree and a DEA in philosophy from the University of Paris-Nanterre before entering ENA.

Criminal or public, the choice of law

Two candidates studied law exclusively:

François Fillon : the Republican candidate holds a master's degree in public law from the University of Maine, as well as a DEA in public law from the University of Paris-Descartes.

Marine Le Pen: holds a master's degree in law and a post-graduate diploma (DEA) in criminal law from the Université Panthéon-Assas, and a certificate of aptitude for the profession of lawyer (Capa) from the École de formation professionnelle des barreaux de la cour de appel de Paris (EFB).a certificate of aptitude for the legal profession (Capa) from the École de formation professionnelle des barreaux de la cour d'appel de Paris (EFB).

On the left, human and social sciences

History, philosophy and economics: the backgrounds of candidates from left-wing parties show a greater interest in the humanities and social sciences.

Nathalie Arthaud : the Lutte Ouvrière candidate began her higher education with a volleyball sports-studies course at the Lycée Auguste et Louis Lumière in Lyon. Today, she is an agrégée in economics and management, and holds a certificat d'aptitude au professorat de l'enseignement de second degré (Capes).

Benoît Hamon : candidate for the Socialist Party, he holds a degree in history from the University of Western Brittany.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon: the founder of La France insoumise has a degree in philosophy from the University of Besançon. He also holds a Capes in modern literature.

Two atypical career paths

In this academic panorama, two candidates stand out as outsiders:

Jean Lassalle: the leader of Résistons! studied to be an agricultural technician specializing in hydraulics and regional planning.

Philippe Poutou: the candidate for the Nouveau parti anticapitaliste (New Anti-Capitalist Party) went straight to work after failing his mechanical baccalaureate.

Far from the clichés that suggest all candidates have the same profile, this overview shows that all paths can lead to politics.