Academic ranks in France

The following summarizes basic academic ranks in the French higher education system. Most academic institutions being state-run, people with permanent positions are civil servants.
Several parallel career paths exist, depending on the type of institutions. The three paths correspond to teacher-researchers (called "enseignants-chercheurs" in French), researchers, and teachers. The three paths are more or less equivalent and it is possible to go from one path to another one when being promoted.
Several ranks exist within each path. Increases in rank (for example, the promotion from associate professor to full professor) entails an increase in salary and responsibility and is subject to some conditions, such as the habilitation. The permanent ranks are sometimes called "Rank A" (full professors, senior scientists) and "Rank B" (associate professor, scientist). In most cases, a complete career requires at least two open recruitment procedures, as there is no individual promotion from rank B to rank A.
Temporary positions would include PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and temporary teachers (usually called "vacataires" or "chargé d'enseignement"). There also exist some administrative ranks, held by permanent employees and often elected by their peers, such as university president or dean. Ranks in private schools and "grandes écoles" are often organized differently.
Public institutions.
Overview.
The following table summarizes the various academic titles used in France, determined by the paths (faculty, research, teaching) and the ranks, together with some equivalent titles in schools with special status. The common abbreviation for the title is presented in parenthesis after the title.
Faculty positions.
Faculty members are called "enseignants-chercheurs" (literally, teachers-researchers). In general, their statute is governed by the Decree 84-431 of June 6, 1984 (with some exceptions: for example, faculty members in public hospitals have a statute governed by another decree). They are civil servants, but they benefit from a special statute which guarantees academic freedom. As an exception to civil service rules, appointments to these positions are made regardless of citizenship.
After gaining a doctorate from a university, and usually after several years of temporary postdoctoral positions, scholars who wish to enter a more permanent academic career may apply for the position of maître de conférences (MCF). To achieve this, they must first be approved by the National Council of Universities, made up of elected and appointed MCFs and university professors. For candidates who have first been approved in this way, the recruitment to positions is carried out in each individual university, mostly by a selection committee of other MCFs and professors, half from the university where the position is available, half from other universities, rather than by administrators. However, the final decision is made by the Academic Council of the university.
The salary scale is national, so pay does not vary from one university to another. A recent reform allows for the possibility of salary modulation in the universities, but for now this remains to be implemented.
After some years in the "maître de conférences" position, an MCF may take an "habilitation" to become a supervisor of doctoral theses before applying for a position of "professeur des universités" ("university professor"), whether in their home university or in another institution. Their suitability for such a position will be judged by the National Council of Universities (restricted to full professors). Each individual application is examined by a selection committee, composed exclusively of full professors, mostly on their published original research as well on teaching and administrative duties. In the past, this required a higher doctorate ("state doctorate"). In some fields, such as law, management ("gestion"), and economics, candidates take the competitive examination known as "agrégation"; only those achieving the highest grades are appointed.
Note that in French, the word "professeur" is used much more widely than the English "professor", and when used on its own it suggests a schoolteacher in secondary education. Qualified terms such as "professeur des universités" are therefore used to clarify the function of the "professeur".
In higher educational establishments outside the university system, such as the École polytechnique, teaching staff follow different hierarchies and career paths. In particular, senior staff at the EHESS, EPHE, École des chartes and École française d'Extrême-Orient are called directeurs d'études instead of professeurs des universités.
Permanent positions.
"Maître de conférences" and "Professeurs des universités" are both permanent positions. This is not the same as tenure, strictly speaking, but is instead due to the status of civil servant in public universities. Since all French universities are state-run, faculty members are civil servants and enjoy increasing employment protection compared to the private sector.
No one can become "Professeur" or "Maître de Conférences" without a doctorate. The habilitation (HDR) to direct doctoral theses is a necessary step to be promoted from MCF to PR. There exists no internal promotion to go from rank B (MCF) to rank A (PR): instead, a candidate must participate in the competition for an open position, usually in a different university. Progression from one pay grade to the next (e.g. 2nd class to 1st class) is internal to the university, and entails an increase in salary and responsibility.
In Law, Political Science, and Economics, it is possible to be recruited directly as a full professor by passing the "agrégation" (distinct from the secondary school system's "agrégation", more widespread). Consequently, some scholars become professors without prior experience as a Maître de conférences. This remains rare however, most of the time the aggregation is a way to accelerate career advancement for the Maîtres de conférences (this is known as the "voie courte", or short way, as opposed to the "voie longue").
The French Ministry of Higher Education and Research provides a comparative table for faculty ranks in France and worldwide. For example, "professeur" corresponds to (full) professor in North America and the UK, while "maître de conférences" corresponds to (tenured) associate professor in North America, or to lecturer/reader/senior lecturer in the UK depending on pay grade and whether the habilitation was obtained or not.
Part-time.
There also exist equivalent ranks as state employees (non civil service) for professors coming from industry and working part-time in a university. These ranks are "maître de conférences associé" (MAST) and "professeur des universités associé" (PAST), depending on academic experience. Despite the similarity, "associé" is not synonymous with "associate" (an associate professor is a mid-seniority professor, where a "professeur associé" is a part-time professor) and would be closer to adjunct.
Research-only positions.
There also exist permanent, research positions, without teaching duties. They are offered by certain public research institutions, the Public Scientific and Technical Research Establishments, for instance the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Institute of Research for Development (IRD), the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), or the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (Inria). Again, people in these positions are civil servants (thus, in this sense, tenured). Their statute is governed by the Decree #83-1260 of December 30, 1983.
There are two levels, matching those of the teaching-research staff
The main differences between these research positions and the faculty positions are, of course, the absence of teaching duties, and the ability to move between different labs (for example, a CNRS researcher can request to move to any CNRS lab in France or abroad, whereas a faculty member is employed by a specific university).
Just like for faculty appointments, there are no internal promotion from rank B to rank A. Instead, each year, national competitions are open to fill new positions, and it is necessary to participate in the national competition to move from one rank to the next. It is possible for a "maître de conférences" to become "directeur de recherches", just like it is possible for a "chargé de recherches" to become "professeurs des universités".
The complete name of the position usually makes the institution explicit, e.g. : "directeur de recherche au CNRS", or "chargé de recherche à l'INRIA". It has to be noticed that some of these positions can be located not in a laboratory proper to the Public Scientific and Technical Research Establishment, but in a mixed research structure, common with a university (UMR).
These establishments also offer engineer positions that include a research part, besides more technical duties (e.g. preparation of a database, experimental apparatus, etc.) : "ingénieur d'études" may include an important research part, "ingénieur de recherche" always includes a dominant research part. There also exists some contractual positions (from a few months to a few years).
Grandes Écoles.
The Grandes Écoles is a parallel educational system generally attributed to Napoleon. These institutions of higher education each specialize in a specific domain, such as business, political science, or engineering. Some of them are grands établissements (for example Sciences Po Paris) are part of the state university recruitment system. The others – mainly the private schools – follow various guidelines. Among the business schools it is common to follow the North American terminology. That is,
Typically, anyone teaching in a private school will identify themselves publicly as "Professeur" regardless of their internal rank. This is an acceptable practice for tenured or full-time staff ("professeurs permanents") and permanently employed part-time staff ("professeurs affiliés"). It is considered inappropriate for others who teach a single course ("vacataires" or "chargés d'enseignements").
Other ranks exist:
A Lecturer generally teaches and his research obligations are limited.
A Professor of Practice is an expert in his field. He typically teaches and maintains contacts with the business world.
A Teaching Fellow most of the time teaches full time.
Administrative ranks.
Several administrative appointments can be held by academics in France. Most are elected positions, with prerogatives and duties described in the statutes of the relevant organization (university, faculty, research lab...).