France's baccalaureate: The hardest high school exam in the world?

Update: 2025-06-12

Description

For many French people, passing the national end-of-high-school exam, known as the Baccalaureate or "Bac", is an important rite of passage. The French love to brag about the "Bac" and how difficult it is, since this implies French pupils are smart. But with so many people passing the diploma, has it lost its value? Recently, the government completely reformed the Bac to make it a "springboard to success". Will it retain its egalitarian – albeit stressful – appeal? We take a closer look in this edition of French Connections.

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