72

The new lru law (loi relative aux libertés et responsabilités des universités) changed the structure of power within the French university system. Prior to this law, the President of a university was elected by the members of three governing bodies: i) the board of directors, ii) the scientific council and iii) the education and university life council ( cevu). Under the new law, only the members of the board of directors are entitled to elect the President. With this new election scheme, the number of potential voters has been reduced from 70-140 to 20-30 members. This aim of this paper is to examine if this new election scheme has affected the distribution of power across the different representative bodies within the university such as the academics, students, administrative personnel and external members. Classiffication JEL: C7, D7