Description: This paper will be based on the renewal of curricula on a very specific segment of the French higher education system, which is devoted to forming the national elite, i.e "classes préparatoires" and "grandes écoles". It will focus on two main sources of change in the re-thinking of competences and even knowledge in these prestigious higher education institutions : upstream, the first one refers to the recruitment of socially disadvantaged students through "positive discrimination", and the promotion of employability skills among other transversal competencies ; downstream, the second one is related to the compulsory adjustment to a globalizing market of higher education where "competitive advantages" between schools have become critical, and the promotion of international competencies, of "open minds" and flexible abilities considering the increasing cross-national and cross-cultural exchanges. Methodology: The paper will be based on an analysis of two types of documents, about the "re-orientation" of the curricula in the Grandes Ecoles, and about the advantages produced by the"positive discrimination" ; moreover, three series of interviews (one of the administrative staff of 3 Grandes Ecoles, one of several foreign students of these 3 institutions, one of several teachers in "classes préparatoires" will allow to check our first hypothesis. Conclusions: The conclusions will insist on how "positive discrimination" and "international opening" are linked to promote valuable knowledge and renewed competencies, as a strategy for obtaining a competitive advantage, both on a national and on an international higher education market.