The French National Administration School (ENA) moves to Strasburg.

The prestigious National Administration School (ENA) used to be one of the symbols of France's centralism, leaving Paris for Strasburg, the school, many consider at the verge of extinction, is in search of a new identity through Strasburg's European vitality.

The plan to move away from Paris announced in 1991 had the effect of a bomb within the school, many students and professors firmly opposed the project. The transfer was to backup and illustrate the French government's ability to decentralize its major institutions according to a constitutional orientation that acknowledged the need to counter balance the all mighty central power of Paris. The ENA issue quickly became an example of how hard this policy was to implement.

The transfer has cost a lot of money, for five years the school was split between Paris and Strasburg, students compelled to go back and forth between both cities. According to the AFP the transfer has cost 20 million euros. To this amount must be additioned employee transfer, approximatively 2,8 million euros.

The school's buildings in Paris' 7th district are estimated to be worth 40 million euros. This will help with the transfer cost, but problems remain. In March 2004, 132 students of the "Leopold Senghor" promotion had publicly complained of "major dysfunctions within the school". Renaud Dutreil, minister of public administration, had reminded the students their "obligation to remain neutral and discreet".