The École nationale d'administration (French pronunciation: [ekɔl nɑsjɔnal dadministʁɑsjɔ̃]; ENA; English: National School of Administration) was a French grande école, created in 1945 by President Charles de Gaulle and principal author of the 1958 Constitution Michel Debré, to democratise access to the senior civil service.

In 2002 the Institut international d'administration publique (IIAP) which educated French diplomats under a common structure with the ENA was merged with it.

[5] The École Nationale d'Administration was formally established in October 1945 at the decree of Michel Debré as part of his project to reform the recruitment and training of high-ranking officials.

[8] The school was designed to broaden and standardize the training provided to senior public servants, and to ensure they possessed extensive knowledge of policy and governance.

[9] Debré's stated intention was to create "a body of officials proven to be highly competent, especially in financial, economic and social matters.

"[10] The new system, based on academic proficiency and competitive examination, was also intended to guard against nepotism and make recruitment to top positions more transparent.

[15] In April 2019, it was claimed that a leaked speech to be delivered by French President Macron would announce that ENA would be closed as part of the solution to the Gilets Jaunes crisis.

Researchers at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique have shown that many ENA alumni become business executives in France.

In addition, ENA graduates are often recruited as aides by government ministers and other politicians; this makes it easier for some of them to enter a political career.

As an example, Dominique de Villepin entered politics as an appointed official, after serving as an aide to Jacques Chirac, without ever having held an elected position.

[31] Peter Gumbel, a British academic, has claimed that France's grande école system, and especially the ENA, has the effect of perpetuating an intellectually brilliant yet out-of-touch ruling elite.

[34] Some French politicians such as Bruno Le Maire and François Bayrou proposed abolishing the ENA,[32][35] a step that was ultimately taken by President Macron in 2021.