French and booklet
The livret du citoyen: the July 2026 booklet and how to use it
Revise history, geography and culture with questions marked as you go, then read the booklet to prepare for the assimilation interview.
Independent site, not linked to the French Interior Ministry, the préfectures or the exam centres.
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| Practice set of 10 questions |
Knowledge questions: French Interior Ministry, Licence Ouverte 2.0, translated by us. Options, explanations and scenarios: Radif Partners. The real exam is in French only. Not the official exam.
The livret du citoyen, or citizen’s booklet, is the document the French administration offers naturalisation applicants to prepare for the assimilation interview at the préfecture. The current edition was approved by an order of 3 July 2026 (NOR INTV2612527A), published in the Journal officiel on 16 July 2026, which repeals the order of 4 February 2022 behind the previous booklet. The booklet itself is the annex to that order and can be read on Légifrance, in the authenticated extract of the electronic Journal officiel. It supports a requirement of the Civil Code: applicants must show sufficient knowledge of the French language, history, culture and society and of a citizen’s rights and duties, and must adhere to the principles and values of the Republic. Since 1 January 2026, the naturalisation-level civic exam has been required on top of the interview. The tool above gives you practice questions on history, geography and culture, a theme worth 8 of the 40 exam questions, each marked straight away.
How many questions on this theme?
Questions in the exam
8 / 40
| History | 3 |
| Geography | 3 |
| Heritage | 2 |
Answers, dates and costs by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
What the order of 3 July 2026 does
The order has three articles. The first approves the booklet set out in its annex. The second repeals the order of 4 February 2022, which had approved the previous edition. The third orders publication in the Journal officiel, which followed on 16 July 2026. It rests on the Civil Code, whose article 21-24 makes assimilation into the French community a condition of naturalisation.
| Item | Reference |
|---|---|
| Text | order of 3 July 2026 approving the livret du citoyen |
| NOR | INTV2612527A |
| Published | Journal officiel, 16 July 2026 |
| Repealed | order of 4 February 2022 |
| Where to read it | annex, authenticated extract of the electronic Journal officiel |
You can open the order directly: order of 3 July 2026 on Légifrance.
Where the booklet fits in a citizenship application
The service-public.gouv.fr page on naturalisation puts it plainly: to prepare for the interview, you can read the livret du citoyen. The interview takes place at the préfecture once your application is found admissible, and its purpose is to check your assimilation. The Civil Code spells out what that means: enough knowledge of the language, history, culture and society of France, knowledge of the rights and duties that come with citizenship, and adherence to the values of the Republic. At the end, you sign the charter of the rights and duties of the French citizen. Our page on the naturalisation interview walks through it.
Booklet, charter and civic exam
- The livret du citoyen: revision material, approved by order, for the assimilation interview.
- The charter of rights and duties: a text approved by decree that recalls the core principles, values and symbols of the Republic; you sign it after the interview.
- The civic exam: a 40-question test in an approved centre, with its own syllabus and a certificate for your file. Practise on the naturalisation-level civic exam.
Revising history, geography and culture
This is where the booklet and the exam overlap most. Theme 4 of the exam, History, geography and culture, has 8 questions: 3 on history, 3 on geography and 2 on heritage. A typical question from our bank: "In which year did the French Revolution begin?" Dates and places like this stick better in short daily rounds than in one long read.
For expats who did not go to school in France, these references are often the least familiar part. Read a section of the booklet, then run the practice set at the top of the page on the same theme. Note what you missed, reread that passage and go again the next day. Our history, geography and culture page gathers every question on the theme.
Common mistakes
- Revising from a copy found on a third-party site without checking that it is the edition approved in 2026.
- Waiting for the interview letter before opening the booklet: the notions take time to settle, especially in a second language.
- Assuming the civic exam certificate replaces the interview: naturalisation includes both steps.
- Reading in silence only: practise saying the key ideas out loud in French, since the interview is a conversation.