Self-propelled civil engineering machine, and in particular a slipform paver, road paver or road milling machine, comprising a chassis, a working unit arranged on the chassis which has working means for producing structures on the ground or for making changes to the ground, a drive unit (4A,4B; 5A,5B) which has drive means to allow the civil engineering machine to perform movements in translation and/or rotation on the ground, and a control unit for controlling the drive unit in such a way that the civil engineering machine performs movements in translation and/or rotation on the ground, wherein the control unit comprises: means for presetting a given geometrical shape for the structure to be produced or for the ground to which changes are to be made, means for determining data which defines the position and/or orientation of a reference point on the civil engineering machine in relation to a reference system (X, Y, Z) which is independent of the position and orientation of the civil engineering machine, means for determining data defining a desired curve which are so designed that the data defining the desired curve is determined on the basis of the preset geometrical shape of the structure to be produced or the ground to which changes are to be made and on the basis of the position and orientation of the reference point on the civil engineering machine in the reference system (X, Y, Z) independent of the position and orientation of the civil engineering machine, the desired curve being that curve along which the reference point on the civil engineering machine is to move in the reference system (X, Y, Z) independent of the position and orientation of the civil engineering machine, and means for controlling the drive unit, as a function of the data defining the desired curve, in such a way that the reference point on the civil engineering machine moves along the desired curve starting from a preset starting point at which the civil engineering machine is in a preset position and orientation on the ground. means for presetting a given geometrical shape for the structure to be produced or for the ground to which changes are to be made, means for determining data which defines the position and/or orientation of a reference point on the civil engineering machine in relation to a reference system (X, Y, Z) which is independent of the position and orientation of the civil engineering machine, means for determining data defining a desired curve which are so designed that the data defining the desired curve is determined on the basis of the preset geometrical shape of the structure to be produced or the ground to which changes are to be made and on the basis of the position and orientation of the reference point on the civil engineering machine in the reference system (X, Y, Z) independent of the position and orientation of the civil engineering machine, the desired curve being that curve along which the reference point on the civil engineering machine is to move in the reference system (X, Y, Z) independent of the position and orientation of the civil engineering machine, and means for controlling the drive unit, as a function of the data defining the desired curve, in such a way that the reference point on the civil engineering machine moves along the desired curve starting from a preset starting point at which the civil engineering machine is in a preset position and orientation on the ground.