Civic exam
French civic exam sample questions: see the format first
See a typical question from each theme with its options, then try a short set to get a feel for the format before the real test.
Independent site, not linked to the French Interior Ministry, the préfectures or the exam centres.
Your score · Naturalisation
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0 / 10 answered
Pick an answer to start
| 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.
Civic exam sample questions show you the format before you revise the content. Each question has a short stem and 4 options, only one of them right; you tick a box, with nothing to write. The real paper runs 40 such questions in 45 minutes and you pass with 32 correct answers. It is entirely in French, so the English versions here are a learning aid, not a preview of the screen you will see. The paper mixes 28 knowledge questions, whose stems appear in the lists published by the French Interior Ministry, and 12 scenario questions describing a concrete case. This page shows one sample from each theme with all its options, then a worked scenario. The tool above extends the samples with a set of ten marked questions drawn at the naturalisation level across all themes, and the small tool tells you whether a given score reaches the pass mark. The answer options are ours, because the ministry publishes only the stems.
Did I pass the civic exam?
Result
Fail
| Pass mark | 32 of 40 (80%) |
| Your score | 75% |
| Missing | 2 more correct answers |
Answers, dates and costs by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
One typical question per theme
For each of the five themes, here is a knowledge question from our bank with its 4 options. The right answer follows the list: try to find it before you read it.
1. Principles and values of the Republic
The political system of France is:
- A monarchy
- A dictatorship
- A democratic republic
- An empire
Right answer: A democratic republic.
2. Institutions and politics
Who lives in the Élysée Palace?
- The Prime Minister
- The President of the National Assembly
- The Mayor of Paris
- The President of the Republic
Right answer: The President of the Republic.
3. Rights and duties
Throwing a cigarette butt on the ground is:
- allowed in the street
- allowed if you stub it out
- forbidden and punishable by a fine
- recommended to avoid fires
Right answer: forbidden and punishable by a fine.
4. History, geography and culture
Which city is located on the Mediterranean coast?
- Lille
- Strasbourg
- Rennes
- Nice
Right answer: Nice.
5. Living in French society
Regarding access to healthcare, which statement is correct?
- Only French citizens have access to healthcare
- Any stable, legal resident can be covered
- Treatment is never reimbursed
- You must own a home to receive care
Right answer: Any stable, legal resident can be covered.
A worked scenario question
A restaurant offers you evening work, paid in cash, with no contract and no payslip. What should you know?
- It is undeclared work, forbidden and with no protection for you
- It is legal if the pay is fair
- It is advisable to avoid taxes
- It is legal for a job under 10 hours
Right answer: It is undeclared work, forbidden and with no protection for you. The scene makes an informal offer look like an opportunity. The real subject is the employer's obligations and the worker's protection: without a declared job there is no cover for workplace accidents, no pension or unemployment contributions and no proof of employment. Starting from the rule rather than the immediate benefit is the reasoning every scenario question expects.
What the samples show
- Stems are short and direct but need precise vocabulary: régime, préfet, organisation, prise en charge.
- Distractors are not absurd: they echo common misconceptions or rules from other countries.
- Geography and history need memory; principles need reasoning.
- A scenario takes longer to read than a knowledge question, so leave time for them.
Where the questions come from
The knowledge stems appear on the official lists published by the ministry for the multi-year permit and the resident card, reused under the Licence Ouverte and translated by us. Options, right answers, explanations and scenarios are written by Radif Partners. The full lists with answers are on the resident card questions page.
From samples to the real paper
After these samples, the set in the tool above puts you in a candidate's seat: one question at a time, one box to tick, then the marking. Once the format feels familiar, the civic exam mock test reproduces the whole paper, with 40 questions and the 45-minute clock.