The written exams for the 2026 baccalaureate continue this Monday with the traditional philosophy exam. Starting at 8 a.m., more than 530,000 final-year students in general and technological tracks are called upon to write on one of the proposed topics, between two essays and a text commentary. As the first exam common to all final-year candidates, philosophy retains a strong symbolic place in the examination despite its weighting now being limited to eight in the general track and four in the technological track.
A few days after the French and mathematics exams taken by eleventh-grade students, the Minister of National Education, Édouard Geffray, emphasized on France Inter radio on Sunday the unique nature of this exam, which continues to generate significant media and public interest each year. The papers must be submitted by noon after four hours of preparation.
Particular attention is paid to the quality of the language.
One of the new features of this session concerns the assessment of written expression. For several weeks, the Ministry has been emphasizing the need to improve proficiency in French across all subjects. Édouard Geffray reiterated that an essay with serious language deficiencies could be penalized, regardless of the topic.
This announcement, however, has raised questions among teachers. Several unions claim they have not yet received the specific instructions that will be applied when marking papers. Detailed procedures are expected to be sent to markers in the coming days.
After philosophy, final-year students will still have to take their oral exams between June 22nd and July 1st. The baccalaureate results will be published on July 7th. Last year, the pass rate reached 91,8%, confirming a long-term trend, as the baccalaureate has maintained a pass rate above 80% for more than a decade.
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