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Grandes Écoles (and there are many of them) are definitely not universities.
I understand the distinction in France between the GE and the rest of the system of higher education, mostly. Given the usual age upon admission for their students, it seems to me that the GE are closer to being universities (such as OxBridge) than they are to being colleges (such as Eton).
Most western countries don’t have a formalised parallel system for preparing the political and intellectual leadership. That role usually falls informally to certain universities or schools within said universities, which can themselves have very competitive or elitist entry requirements. Harvard, OxBridge, UNAM in Mexico, UC in Chile, UBA in Argentina are all universities known for their role in producing their respective national leadership.
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Eseman
Grandes Écoles (and there are many of them) are definitely not universities. Not the ones I've attended anyway.
All GE have a very selective entry process. Not based on your grades at the baccalaureat but with a very hard entry exam. To sit that exam, you will have to have been attending a prep school (very often private high schools in the largest cities only, and if you studied in the "province" or shires you're already at a disadvantage cos the concept of GE is a very Paris-centric one with all the snotty snobbishness you can imagine).
I'm surprised that Macron is able to replace the grandest of GE, the ENA where past leaders, ambassadors, prefects learn the ropes about leading and running a country, with something a little less elitist-looking at least on the surface.
What I'm not surprised about though is that he's attempting to push through more much-needed reforms.
I wonder if the sons and daughters of the bourgeois families who are going to be the ones impacted the most by this small revolution will descend sporting Dior and St Laurent-branded gilets jaunes.