Nowadays, education is considered by a lot of people as the pillar of a nation and the roots of the future working classes, manual and intellectual. The French education system is considered to be in the top 20 of National Higher Education Systems worldwide. The modern era of French schooling was created at the end of the nineteenth century by Jules Ferry. As in every system, the education in France has advantages but also suffers from different problems.

The French education system is clearly professionally oriented and that is one of its best advantages. For every children, the finality of every education curriculum is to find a job that they like, and have a decent quality of life. In France, the orientation starts in High School where you have to choose between different specializations as mathematic, languages, economic, and mechanics, etc. The specialization becomes more professional in College, where you really learn a job, and sometimes have the opportunity to do a in-service training in a company related to your studies. For students who don't like school or have a lot of difficulties, they can be oriented to professional studies before and during High School. Another good point for the French education system is that it is mandatory until the age of 12. It is important for every child to know how to read and write, and to have a good understanding of general culture. We have a lot of classes of History (not only French history), Geography, Music, and Art, and some of these classes are required for the High School degree.The schools are mostly public, so they are free of charge, which guarantees an education for everyone in the country.
Paradoxically, the strengths of the French education system are also a part of its weaknesses. The schools are mostly public and free but the best ones are private and expensive. There is also a clear deficiency in foreign languages learning for every French student. When Scandinavian children start to learn languages at 4, French students start at the age of 8, and the classes are not really intensive. Although the system is professionally oriented and really good for people who know what job they want to do, there is a big problem with students who don't know what to do in their lives. The system just doesn't support them and they finish with low degrees for manual work. It is clearly one of the biggest issue of the French education system. It is absurd to create a system based on professional orientation, without giving the opportunity and the means to students to be well oriented in a job they like, according to their competences and skills. Since the early 2000's, an orientation program with advisors has been created but it is not efficient.
Education is a very important topic in France and it is always a subject to debate in every presidential election, and the last one, the 6th of May, was not an exception. With a new president and a new socialist system, every French citizen is looking forward to see what is going to change in the near future, regarding the different issues we listed below. The lives of our children depend on it.