What Is the IRA Concours? France's Route Into Attaché d'Administration

The IRA concours is the national competitive exam run by the Instituts Regionaux d’Administration to recruit generalist mid-level managers into cadre A of the French civil service, in the grade of attache d’administration de l’Etat. Passing it opens a training place at one of five institutes; the training itself is what confers the grade.

Unlike the grandes ecoles model that recruits the very top of the administration, the IRA pathway is aimed at people who will run sections, projects and services across ministries, prefectures and public establishments, in human resources, budget, legal affairs, project management and communication.

What does an attaché d’administration actually do?

An attache d’administration is a generalist cadre A civil servant. Depending on the posting, the job can mean running a human resources unit, drafting and monitoring a budget, managing a public procurement process, coordinating a project across services, or handling legal and administrative files inside a ministry, a prefecture or a public establishment. The training at the IRA is organised around these competency areas rather than a single technical specialism, since graduates can land in very different kinds of posts.

Where does the concours lead you physically?

There are five Instituts Regionaux d’Administration: Bastia, Lille, Lyon, Metz and Nantes. The concours itself is identical across all five, same written and oral tests, same dates. Candidates state a preferred institute when they register, but the final list allocates each successful candidate according to rank and preference together, so where you actually train depends on how well you placed, not only on what you asked for.

What does the written test cover?

The epreuve ecrite d’admissibilite combines a cas pratique on a current public policy issue, where the candidate answers as if already an attache, drawing on operational supporting documents; a questionnaire a choix multiple of sixty questions on general knowledge and the administrative and institutional environment; and two short answer questions testing writing and reasoning. A recent reform reweighted this written test to give general culture and institutional knowledge more prominence alongside the traditional case-study format.

What happens at the oral stage?

Candidates who clear the ecrits move to an epreuve orale d’admission built around an interview with the jury, professional simulations, and questions on public policy challenges, aimed at assessing motivation and fit for the functions the training prepares them for. Internal and troisieme concours candidates also have their prior professional experience formally recognised as part of this oral, a mechanism known as reconnaissance des acquis de l’experience professionnelle.

Is there more than one way in?

Yes, three tracks lead to the same grade: the concours externe, for candidates holding at least a licence (bac+3) or an equivalent qualification; the concours interne, for candidates with at least four years of public service; and the troisieme concours, for at least five years of private-sector experience, an elective local mandate, or a leadership role in an association. The differences between the three are covered in IRA externe, interne, troisieme concours: which track fits you.

What comes after you pass?

Passing the concours does not put you directly into post. Successful candidates begin as eleve-attache, paid by the institute, before moving into a period as attache-stagiaire, paid by the administration they are assigned to, ahead of confirmation in the grade. What that training period actually involves is detailed in from concours to post: what IRA training actually looks like, and the salary trajectory that follows is covered in attache d’administration salary.

How many places are open each year?

The number of posts offered, the registration window and the exam calendar are fixed by a fresh arrete published in the Journal Officiel each year, so they change from one session to the next. Current figures are on the central IRA registration portal and in the published arrete on Legifrance; do not rely on a prior session’s numbers.

Frequently asked questions

Is the IRA concours the same thing as the ENA or the INSP? No. The INSP (formerly ENA) recruits into the very top administrative corps; the IRA concours recruits generalist cadre A managers at a different level, and the two pathways lead to different grades and different careers.

Can I choose which of the five IRA I train at? You state a preference at registration, but the final assignment depends on your rank in the concours combined with that preference, so a high preference with a lower rank may not be honoured.

Is French nationality required for the IRA concours? Yes, unlike some other French public competitions open to EU citizens, the IRA concours requires French nationality, as set out in the opening notice.

Is there a limit on how many times I can attempt the IRA concours? No, attempts are unlimited, as long as you meet the eligibility conditions of the track you register under for that session.

Where do I find the exact syllabus and this year’s exam dates? On the central IRA registration portal and in that session’s opening arrete published on Legifrance.