During our French lessons with Monsieur R we have discussed a wide range of topics, swapped stories about how things compare in Australia to what occurs in France, but not always in French as the topics are too important and interesting to lose the threads because of our poor grasp of French.

Thank goodness Monsieur R also speaks excellent English.

Last lesson, we discussed the schooling system in France. Monsieur R is a retired teacher as are Mick and I. So the topic was very interesting to each of us.

I explained to Monsieur R that there is a saying in Australia which is used a lot to describe how good things are in Australia (and they generally are); it is….

“We’re the Lucky Country“.

But, after what Monsieur R told us about how education works in France, I think that saying has to be applied to France, French students, the parents of French students and female teachers (actually female public servants in general) with three or more children.

I’ll explain that last one later.

I am not going to re-hash everything we discussed, I am sure you will be pleased to know, as there is excellent information on the web, including in the following link targeting non-French people with school-aged children considering a move to France.

Link to an excellent article on the French schooling system.

Rather, I am going to pick out the things that interested Mick and me.

1. Public school is free and mandatory for all children between the ages of 6-16. OK that could be said of Australia (and other countries as well) where school fees in Australian public schools are optional. Private schools do exist in France and fees are required for those schools – again that is not so different to Australia.
2. Ecoles Maternelle – preschools – are available, but not compulsory for children to attend. Children can start school at 2 years of age Monsieur R told us, “si s’ils sont propres” – literally translated as “if they are clean”, but really it means if they are toilet trained (a new term for Monsieur R that he was delighted to learn). A great incentive to get that job out of the way. Toddlers can attend these schools until they are 6, and Monsieur R explained that meals are included. He had four sons and each of them attended the local ecole maternelle from 2 years of age. All I could think about was how much money young families spend on child care in Australia.
3. The structure of the schools after ecole maternelle is divided into three categories: (a) ecole primaire (primary) taking five years; (b) collège (middle school) taking four years; and (c) lycée (high school) which can take three years. Again not so different except that the years are counted backwards from 11ème (11th) to 1ème (1st) and the final year of schooling is called terminale.
4. The majority of students continue on to complete the (non-compulsory) final three years of schooling – academic students either select a lycée général or lycée technique, while less academic select a lycée professionnel.
5. The academic students prepare and sit for the Baccalauréat (le bac). There are three different areas of specialisation they can choose. The results from le bac determine positions at universities. As well, there are seven baccalauréat technologique –  students again select an area to specialise in and can gain university places once they complete and pass le bac.
6. Monsieur R told us that attending university is almost free. “How fantastic is that?” we thought. Mick and I (and our parents) were lucky enough that when we went to university in the mid to late 70’s in Australia, university was free, but absolutely not now. When I researched the price of university study in France on the internet I found that late in 2018 a degree cost €170 per year, while a masters cost €243 per year and a PhD cost €380 per year. Heaven forbid, there is a move afoot to increase these charges to non-EU students. (And that will include English students from 29 March 2019 when Britain leaves the European Union. The fees are set to increase by 16 times according to this article. Even if they are increased by that amount, it still makes it a very cheap way to get university qualifications.
7. What about female teachers (civil servants) with three children?? Well this surprised me immensely. After 15 years of service, these women (mothers of three+) can retire on almost full pay.

France’s 5m civil servants and public sector workers also enjoy gold-plated perks that are increasingly resented by the public, particularly as they are not paid for by a dedicated pension fund but out of an already stretched state budget. For example, a mother of three who has worked in the public service for 15 years can retire on virtually full pay – even if she is far from the legal retirement age of 60. On average female civil servants with three children leave work at 52, but in services such as public transport and energy they can leave as early as 44.

I wondered what impact that has on the balance of male and female teachers in France?

Even though that sounds like a great incentive to have at least three children, Monsieur R told us a little “story” (and I must qualify this as I’m unsure it is true, but he says it is quite widely held, and it did make Mick and me smile)…..

…the third child in some families looks quite different to the older two.