Drawing on extensive and previously unpublished data, this article analyses the geographical disparities in access to the grandes écoles and how these have evolved since the late 2000s. Despite the ‘social inclusion’ measures introduced by certain grandes écoles to diversify their student body, the geographical recruitment base for these elite institutions remains narrow and has changed little over the period. Whilst Parisians account for only 3 per cent of the population, they made up 8 per cent of the student body at the grandes écoles in 2016–2017 and nearly 25 per cent of the student body at the most prestigious institutions. Conversely, students from outside the Île-de-France region, who make up 82 per cent of the population, accounted for only 70 per cent of the student body at these institutions and 49 per cent of the student body at the most prestigious ones. Geographical inequalities in access to the grandes écoles can only be partly explained by the average differences in academic performance and social composition between the departments of Île-de-France and the other departments. Their persistence stems, in particular, from the lack of diversity in recruitment to preparatory classes and post-baccalaureate schools during the period under review. The very high spatial concentration of these educational pathways within the Île-de-France region, particularly among the most selective of them, tends to favour pupils from Île-de-France in terms of access to the grandes écoles.
HAL: halshs-03347843
