International audienceHow have the legislative and cyclical changes in the public employment system between 1991 and 2012 affected the entry paths of young people into the public service ? To find out, we describe the dynamics of entry paths into this sector, comparing their distribution over the cohorts. In 21 years, the prospects for direct access to permanent State jobs have diminished considerably, to the benefit of contractual job retention, supporting the hypothesis of the establishment of a pseudo internal market characterized by long-term employment within the State, without the guarantees associated with civil servant status. Departures to the private sector are decreasing at the same time, and we finally identify a very small but ...