FRIENDSHIP AMONG THE FRENCH FINANCIAL ELITE

This analysis offers a rare glimpse into the antecedents and correlate s of friendship among the inner circle of the top financial elites in France during the last years of the Socialist government. Consistent w ith other studies of elites, social prestige and club membership deter mine membership in the inner circle. Reflecting French institutions, h aving worked in the Treasury is also important. Who is friends with wh om depends on social prestige, political party membership, and residen ce, but most importantly on whether or not one graduated from the top French school for administration (ENA). The inner circle is sociometri cally divided into moieties, or ''cliques,'' which are both cooperativ e and competitive. Moiety membership is determined by politics, ENA ba ckground, and prestige and is also correlated with common board member ship. The concept of ''enforceable trust,'' a key factor in high finan ce, explains the importance of friendship in this elite. There are suf ficient friendship ties between the moieties to suggest that, despite the privatization of financial institutions engendered by the new non- Socialist government, the basic character of French finance will remai n the same.