In 2018, civil servants in the French State Civil Service (FPE) were predominantly female, more highly educated and twice as likely to be managers or intermediate professionals than employees in France as a whole. Two out of three civil servants in the FPE belonged to the highest hierarchical category, A.

A large proportion of civil servants joined the civil service with a higher level of education than that required. This share increased over the generations. However, civil servants with a higher level of education at entry often moved to a hierarchical category in line with their diploma in the course of their career through individual promotion or reclassification.

State civil servants with high entry qualifications and men are more likely to have been promoted during their career than others. Promotions were accompanied on average by higher wages, while breaks or long periods of unemployment were associated with lower wages.