As everyone knows, connections matter, particularly so in the access to top management positions. The power of alumni networks, first and foremost those of Polytechnique and ENA, is well documented in the literature regarding the French elites. Rigorously selected and lavishly trained to serve the country’s public interest, these graduates often occupy the upper-management layers of large French companies.
The French state’s involvement in nearly every aspect of the economy is an obvious facilitator. It creates gateways allowing those who so wish to cash in on their experience in the higher administration, often punctuated with a stint in a ministerial cabinet, by directly vaulting into the higher echelons of a company before aiming for the CEO seat. In the United States, the term “revolving door” refers to a similar process in which powerful individuals cycle between the public and private sectors, making use of their connections and influence on both sides.