In this report designed for a European audience, and conceived within a project focused on access to higher education (HE), the first part recalls the principles that shape the present organization of the French system. Then, the present frame in which HE issues are nested is described (especially the evolution of the population eligible). In a third part, the report focuses upon the main problems one may consider about the functioning of access to HE (especially, the difficulty to regulate students' choices and to guarantee success), before setting out the main reforms which have been implemented to address them. Last, a fifth part underlines that some recurrent problems do remain (especially in an open non selective system), and evokes the ongoing debates (about professionalization, democratization.)