France ICNA 2026 English Test Dates and Scores

France's 2026 external ICNA competition began written tests on April 20, published admissibility on June 11, and began oral tests on June 22. The final admission lists followed the jury meeting on July 27.

English was compulsory in both phases. Written English carried coefficient 5 with scores below 8/20 eliminatory. Oral English also carried coefficient 5, but a score below 12/20 eliminated the candidate.

The competition is complete as of August 28. Start a free SpeakShark conversation for general aviation-career communication and use DGAC, ENAC, SCEI and CCINP material for the concours.

Key takeaways

• External written tests began April 20, 2026.
• External oral tests began June 22, 2026.
• Written English below 8/20 was eliminatory.
• Oral English below 12/20 was eliminatory.
• English carried coefficient 5 in both external phases.
• The current page lists 145 places and 1,183 admissible candidates.

In this guide: calendar | English | schedule | internal | threshold | places | routes | results | research | FAQ

ICNA external 2026 calendar

The external competition used the Concours Commun INP bank for MP, PC, PSI and MPI candidates.

The opening order supplied April 20 and June 22 as phase-start dates. The recruitment page later confirmed 1,183 admissible candidates and published the final lists.

Neither date means English was administered to every candidate on that first day. Written papers followed the stream timetable, while oral appointments were programmed individually through the common competition system.

The page still displays "result date to come" in one calendar cell, but the same live page contains the admission lists. The results section is therefore stronger current evidence than the stale placeholder.

External written and oral English

English is Langue vivante A and is mandatory for ENAC Contrôleur Aérien candidates.

The English coefficients are the same in MP, PC, PSI and MPI.

Written English accounts for 5 of the 22 published admissibility coefficients, about 22.7%. Oral English accounts for 5 of the 20 admission coefficients, exactly 25%.

The remaining oral weight is:

English has the highest published eliminatory mark in the external oral phase. A candidate can perform strongly in science and still be unclassifiable after an English score of 11.9.

This differs from INSP English, where points above 10 do not count, and French Foreign Affairs Secretary English, where written English below 10 eliminates.

Why there was no single oral English date

The DGAC page gives the start of the oral period, not a common English session.

External candidates had several oral components supplied or programmed through CCINP:

1. Mathematics.
2. Physics and Chemistry, or Informatics for MPI.
3. English.
4. DGAC interview.

The individual oral schedule determined the English date and time. The public June 22 date answers "when did the oral phase begin?" but not "when was my English oral?"

That distinction matters for future cycles. Candidates should use:

1. The DGAC recruitment calendar for phase dates.
2. SCEI and CCINP for personal scheduling.
3. The ENAC candidate space for required medical uploads.
4. The individual convocation for the exact appointment.

A coaching page that assigns one universal English day without the candidate schedule is overstating the public evidence.

Internal competition English calendar

The 2026 internal competition was a separate recruitment route with 15 places.

Internal candidates faced English in both phases:

The internal oral start was April 28, almost two months before external oral tests began. Candidates must not use the external June calendar for an internal application.

The internal route also had Mathematics, Physics, French and a jury interview. A separate optional language or aeronautical-knowledge oral could add bonus points above 10.

The 12 out of 20 oral threshold

The external and internal 2026 notices both published below 12 as eliminatory for oral English.

The previous external jury showed how consequential this was in 2025:

About 27.6% of all 2025 admissible candidates received an eliminatory English mark. The group scoring between 10 and 12 alone represented about 16.9% of admissible candidates.

The jury recommended lowering the English threshold from 12 to 10. It also said oral English evaluation had expanded beyond language control to include the capacity to speak at length and general knowledge under the common bank format.

That recommendation did not itself change the 2026 rule. The current 2026 notice still printed below 12 as eliminatory, so candidates had to follow the notice rather than the recommendation.

For general oral development, practise English conversation topics for adults, English job interview role plays, office small talk, and practice speaking alone. Start free speaking practice without treating it as CCINP scoring.

2026 places and admissibility

The current DGAC recruitment page lists 145 external places.

It also reports 1,183 admissible candidates after the written tests. That is about 8.2 admissible candidates per offered place before oral eliminations, ranking, medical fitness and withdrawals.

An earlier information brochure projected 150 places, split 54 MP, 39 PC, 54 PSI and 3 MPI. The later live recruitment page reflects the updated offer and should be used for the final 2026 count.

Final admission also requires Class 3 medical fitness. The earlier application stage required the medical evidence described in the candidate notice.

The training is free and paid, with a public-service commitment after completion under the published conditions.

Do not mix the four ICNA recruitment routes

ICNA recruitment can appear under several routes.

The recruitment-on-qualifications route listed eight places and used an English oral of 30 minutes with a below-10 eliminatory threshold. The professional special selection can use optional general and aeronautical English.

Those rules are not alternatives a candidate chooses on test day. Each route has separate eligibility, registration and scoring.

Generic advice such as English vocabulary and speaking skills, English speaking and writing skills, and beginner speaking mistakes supports language control but does not identify the correct ICNA route.

How to check the official result

For the completed external cycle:

1. Open the DGAC external ICNA recruitment page.
2. Confirm the page states the 2026 session.
3. Open the Admission section.
4. Select MP, PC, PSI or MPI.
5. Check the main list and any complementary list.
6. Follow the medical and ENAC instructions sent through the candidate route.

The ENAC result-availability page also shows that external oral results are available by stream.

Admission on a list does not waive medical or eligibility verification. DGAC states that conditions can be checked through appointment.

For source discipline, see questions before booking an English test. Calendar dates, personal convocations, result lists and medical instructions each serve a different function.

Candidates comparing unrelated French tests should keep DCL English, IELTS France, TOEIC France, and TOEFL France separate from the ICNA civil-service competition.

How we researched this guide

On August 28, 2026, we opened the live DGAC external ICNA page through the existing browser profile. We checked the 2026 external notice, opening order, internal notice, current results, ENAC result status and the prior jury report.

The external notice supplied English coefficients and eliminatory marks. The opening order and recruitment page supplied written and oral starts. The internal page supplied its April dates and separate English structure. We used the later live count of 145 places instead of the brochure's earlier 150 projection.

We labelled the 305 English eliminations as 2025 jury evidence rather than attributing them to 2026. We did not invent one universal English oral date, claim a threshold change from a recommendation or use SpeakShark customer data.

We are a speaking improvement tool. We are not an exam preparation provider, and we are not affiliated with DGAC, ENAC, SCEI, CCINP or any exam board. For test format, booking and official practice material, go to the exam body directly. Use SpeakShark to make your spoken English stronger, and use official material to learn the test.

FAQ

The ICNA external written phase began April 20, 2026. Admissibility results were published June 11, and oral admission tests began June 22. Final admission lists were published after the July 27 jury meeting. Each admissible candidate received an individual oral schedule through the common engineering-competition system.

Yes. English is compulsory in both phases for all four external streams, MP, PC, PSI and MPI. Written English has coefficient 5 and eliminates a score below 8 out of 20. Oral English also has coefficient 5 but eliminates a score below 12, making it one of the strictest selection gates.

There was no single public English day for every external candidate. The official ICNA calendar states that oral tests began June 22, while CCINP programmed individual Mathematics, science, English and DGAC interview appointments. Candidates had to use their personal oral schedule rather than infer an English date from the phase start.

The internal competition used a compulsory three-hour written English paper with coefficient 3 and an eliminatory score below 8. Its compulsory oral English test lasted 15 minutes after 20 minutes of preparation, carried coefficient 2 and eliminated scores below 12. Written tests began April 9 and oral tests April 28.

The current recruitment page lists 145 places: 52 for MP, 38 for PC, 52 for PSI and 3 for MPI. It also reports 1,183 admissible candidates after the written phase. An earlier information brochure projected 150 places, so the later recruitment page is the safer final reference.

The previous 2025 jury reported that 305 of 1,106 admissible candidates received an eliminatory oral English mark, including 187 who scored from 10 to below 12. The jury recommended lowering the threshold, but the official 2026 external notice still published below 12 as eliminatory.

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Sources

1. DGAC external ICNA 2026 page, checked for dates, places and results.
2. External ICNA 2026 notice, checked for coefficients and thresholds.
3. External ICNA opening order, checked for written and oral start dates.
4. DGAC internal ICNA 2026 page, checked for internal dates and places.
5. Internal ICNA 2026 notice, checked for English timing and scores.
6. 2025 external jury report, checked for threshold impact.
7. ENAC oral result availability, checked for current result status.
8. ENAC air-traffic-controller programme, checked for training and medical context.
9. SpeakShark pricing, checked for current free and paid options.

DGAC, ENAC and the common competition bank can change dates, places, thresholds and scheduling. Confirm the route page and personal convocation before acting.