Civic exam for the multi-year residence permit (A2)

The French level expected for this application is A2. The civic exam and the language test remain two separate assessments: passing one never exempts you from the other. What changes compared with the other applications is not the format — 40 questions, 45 minutes, 32 correct answers — but the calibration of the vocabulary and the depth expected on each point.

What comes up, topic by topic

The syllabus is the same as for the other applications, but approached at face value. On principles and values, you will be asked about the motto, the symbols and the meaning of laïcité, without going into the history of the 1905 law. On institutions, remember the offices and the durations: a President elected for five years, a mayor heading the commune, a National Assembly and a Senate that vote the law. On rights and duties, it is the basic rules that count: compulsory education from 3 to 16, the ban on discrimination, obeying the law. Geography is limited to the broad markers: the three sea fronts, the main rivers and mountain ranges, overseas France. Finally, everyday life is the most approachable topic: emergency numbers, the role of the town hall, registering for school, the carte Vitale. That is often where you should begin, because it overlaps with things you have already done yourself.

What this track covers

• Start with the symbols, the motto and the emergency numbers: those are the most rewarding questions.
• Do not go looking for historical nuance: at this level, the broad markers are enough.
• Practise reading the wordings in French rather than translating them in your head: that is what saves time on the day.

Three questions to test yourself

In FrenchThe questions stay in French: that is the language you will sit the exam in.

1. Question 1

   Quels sont les trois mots de la devise française ?

   • APaix, travail, patrie
   • BLiberté, égalité, fraternité
   • CUnité, force, justice
   • DHonneur, patrie, valeur
   Answer

   B. Liberté, égalité, fraternité — La devise de la République française est « Liberté, égalité, fraternité ».

2. Question 2

   Quel numéro appeler en cas d'incendie ?

   • ALe 15
   • BLe 17
   • CLe 18
   • DLe 39 39
   Answer

   C. Le 18 — Le 18 joint les pompiers. Le 112 fonctionne aussi partout dans l'Union européenne.

3. Question 3

   Qui délivre un titre de séjour ?

   • ALa mairie
   • BLa préfecture
   • CLe tribunal
   • DLa CAF
   Answer

   B. La préfecture — La préfecture représente l'État dans le département et délivre les titres de séjour.

Compare the three applications