In 2012, nearly 240,000 people took a State civil service (SCS) external competitive examination for one of the 23,000 available positions. These competitive examinations were an important professional opportunity at the end of initial studies. The attraction of the SCS responds to several factors, the significance of which may differ according to the hierarchical level of the competitive examination. A larger number of available positions attracted more candidates for all categories. The number of candidates steadily increased for competitive examinations in categories B and C and competitive examinations for teachers where young graduates who are likely to take these examinations are faced with high unemployment. In addition, the number of applications for category B and C competitive examinations is linked to the number of young people who have completed their initial studies. In the short term, the attractiveness of category A competitive examinations (excluding teachers) depended primarily on the relative wage offered at the start of a career in the public sector compared to the private sector and, to a lesser extent, to prospects of unemployment faced by highly qualified young people.