The Institute of Political Sciences in Paris – or ‘Sciences Po’ as it’s generally known - is one of France’s elite schools. The chosen few are only admitted after entry exams. The school functions along a certain established ‘code’… Which probably explains why the majority of ‘Sciences Po’ students come from well-educated, well-to-do backgrounds. In an effort to make the studies accessible to the less-favoured, the government has recently established a programme giving access to a certain percentage students from “sensitive areas and suburbs” who are chosen based on their high school performance and oral exams, but not on the institute’s traditional entry exam. In October 2001, 17 students from the programme have the chance to ‘get in with the elite’…
Our film follows these students in their adventure of a different kind : learning the culture codes of what is generally acknowledged to be France’s « Temple of Republican elitism » …