The 5 themes
Rights and duties in France: theme 3 revision
Run through theme 3 sets with instant marking, then read how freedoms and obligations fit together in the answers the exam expects.
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.
Rights and duties is the third theme of the French civic exam. It brings together fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression, religion and the press or the right to divorce, and the obligations of everyone living in France: obeying the law, paying taxes, sending children to school, respecting the environment and the police. On the day it carries 11 of the 40 questions: 2 on fundamental rights, 3 on obligations and duties and 6 scenarios. It weighs as much as the principles and values of the Republic, and those two themes alone make up more than half the marks. Its guiding idea fits in one line: a freedom is exercised within limits set by law to protect others. For expats, the difficulty is often a rule that differs from home, on divorce, undeclared work or police custody. The tool above draws ten-question sets from this theme, out of the 97 in our bank, marked one by one; the small tool shows the official split. The real exam is in French only.
How many questions on this theme?
Questions in the exam
11 / 40
| Fundamental rights | 2 |
| Obligations and duties | 3 |
| Scenarios | 6 |
Answers, dates and costs by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Fundamental rights
The 2 questions on this notion check that you know what the main freedoms guarantee. Distractors often present a freedom as absolute, or as needing permission.
- "What is freedom of expression?" Answer: Being able to express one's opinions freely, within the limits of the law. Freedom of expression lets you say, write and publish your ideas and opinions. The law sets limits: insults, defamation and incitement to hatred are punishable.
- "Is it always possible to get divorced?" Answer: Yes, either spouse can ask for a divorce. In France, no one is forced to stay married. Either spouse, man or woman, can ask a court for a divorce even if the other disagrees, for example on grounds of permanent breakdown of the marriage.
Obligations and duties
With 3 questions, this is the most heavily drawn knowledge notion in the theme. It covers obeying the law, tax, compulsory schooling, rules of community life and the different kinds of offence.
- "Why can individual freedoms be limited?" Answer: To protect public order and the rights of others. Freedoms stop where they harm others. The law can limit them to protect public order (safety, peace, public health), the general interest, other people's freedoms and human dignity.
- "Which of these is an example of a délit (intermediate offence)?" Answer: A theft. Theft is a délit, like tax fraud, harassment or failing to send one's child to school. Délits are tried by the tribunal correctionnel (criminal court) and punished by 2 months to 10 years in prison.
| Offence | Example | Penalty or court |
|---|---|---|
| Contravention | speeding, night-time noise | fine |
| Délit | theft, tax fraud | criminal court (tribunal correctionnel) |
| Crime, the most serious | murder | assize court or criminal court |
Scenario questions in this theme
They make up more than half of the theme's questions. They ask you to recognise a right you hold or a rule you must follow, often in a vulnerable moment: an arrest, insecure work, a family conflict.
- You are taken into police custody (garde à vue) at the police station. What right do you have? Answer: To be assisted by a lawyer, free of charge if needed. In police custody everyone has the right to a lawyer (court-appointed and free if needed), to remain silent, to inform a relative, to see a doctor and to have an interpreter. These are the rights of the defence.
A useful reflex: French law grants rights even to a suspect, as police custody shows, and protects workers even when they agreed to an unlawful arrangement. Options such as "you have no rights" or "accept it to keep your job" are almost always wrong. The scenario questions page gathers more cases from this theme.
Typical mistakes
- Thinking a freedom has no limit: free speech does not cover insults or incitement to hatred.
- Applying a rule from another country instead of the French one, for instance on divorce or marriage.
- Believing a private arrangement beats the law: undeclared work stays illegal even if both sides agree.
- Forgetting that obligations apply to everyone, foreign residents included: tax, schooling, respect for the police.
Going further
The civic training sheets give a chapter to rights and duties, split between fundamental rights and the obligations of people living in France. The theme links with principles and values of the Republic, which holds the other half of the scenarios, and with living in French society, a more practical theme on work, healthcare and school.