Education — France · Synthesis

A budget effort above the European average. France devotes 5.6% of its GDP to education in 2023 (World Bank), a level above the EU average (≈ 4.7% in 2022) and that of the OECD. By way of comparison, Germany stands at 4.9%, Italy at 4.3%, Japan at 3.5%; only the United Kingdom (5.7%) slightly exceeds France among our peers. Spending per pupil reaches €10,265 in 2022 (Eurostat/CEPREMAP) — above Italy (€8,145), well below Germany (€12,232), the United Kingdom (€17,864) and the United States (€19,342). The gap in cost per pupil at comparable budget effort is explained by a heavier demographic weight of youth in France than in most peers.

School dropout: a strong point. The share of 18-24 year-olds who left secondary education without a diploma stands at 7.7% in 2024 (Eurostat), below the European target (< 9%) and above the French inequality-reduction threshold. It is the best result in our comparator panel: Germany 12.9%, United Kingdom 10.9%, Italy 9.8%, EU average 9.4%. Detection policies ("Mission to combat school dropout", territorial platforms, training obligation up to age 18) have produced measurable results over the decade.

Baccalaureate results and cognitive achievement. The baccalaureate pass rate reaches 91.6% in the 2025 session (DEPP) — a historically high level, debated by the inspectorates (IGÉSR) with regard to the signalling value of the diploma. On cognitive achievement, the 2022 PISA survey (OECD) places France at 474 points in mathematics (OECD average 472), but documents a decline of −21 points compared with 2018 — the sharpest among the major OECD countries. PISA also confirms that France is among the countries where social background weighs most on academic performance, a recurring finding since 2000.

Supervision and teaching conditions. The pupil/teacher ratio reaches 18.2 (all levels combined, 2023) (World Bank), higher than Germany (15.1), Italy (12.0), the United States (15.4) and Japan (16.1) — a level comparable to the United Kingdom (18.7). Classroom conditions weigh in the debate on the performance of primary and lower-secondary education; the halving of class sizes in CP/CE1 in REP+ (since 2017) has partly offset this for the most disadvantaged groups. The IGÉSR / Cour des comptes reports point to an erosion of the attractiveness of the teaching profession: a continuous decline in candidates for competitive exams in certain disciplines (mathematics, German, literature), with 2023-2024 pay rises deemed insufficient mid-career by OECD *Education at a Glance 2024*.

Higher education: massification, but a coverage lag. The gross enrolment rate in higher education stands at 71.5% in 2024 (World Bank), below Germany (76.7%), Italy (76.0%), the United Kingdom (80.4%), the United States (79.4%) and the EU average (79.5%). The result reflects both guidance (the post-baccalaureate bottleneck via Parcoursup, debated) and the relative weight of apprenticeships outside higher education. On financing, spending per student remains a point of tension: France invests less per student than the OECD average, and markedly less than the Anglo-Saxon countries.

The "Knowledge Shock" and the overhaul of lower-secondary school. Launched in late 2023 and specified in 2024-2025, the "Knowledge Shock" (Choc des savoirs) plan is the main structural reform under way: standardised assessments in CE1, CM1, Year 7 and Year 8 (DEPP), an overhaul of the mathematics and French curricula, needs-based groups in Year 6 / Year 7 (initially "ability groups", redesigned at the start of the 2024 school year). The positions of the teaching unions, the Higher Council for Curricula and local authorities differ on the scope and timetable; the first impact assessments are expected from 2026-2027.

Initial teacher training: pivot at M1. The recruitment competition (CAPES, CRPE) shifts to the bac+4 (M1) level from the 2025 session, with a paid professional year in M2. The stated objective — to broaden the pool and smooth entry into the profession — is shared, but the Cour des comptes and the Senate have warned of the risk of a transitional shortfall of candidates. The areas of tension (mathematics, German, certain académies in the Paris region and overseas) remain the main point of vigilance.

Apprenticeship: a quantitative success, sustainability questioned. Since the Professional Future Act (2018), the number of apprentices has tripled to reach more than 1 million at end-2024 (DARES/DEPP). It is one of the most visible reforms at the end of compulsory schooling. The Cour des comptes warned in 2024 about the budgetary sustainability of the scheme (single hiring aid, financing of training centres) and called for better targeting. The 2026 targeting on sub-baccalaureate levels and industry reflects this shift.

Higher education: financing, selection, internationalisation. Three debates shape the outlook: financing per student (below the OECD); differentiated tuition fees for non-European students (since 2019, still unevenly applied); and selection at bachelor's level via Parcoursup, whose transparency and effects on equal access are the subject of parliamentary and academic debate (IGÉSR reports, Senate fact-finding mission).

The open questions. Three trade-offs will shape the decade: (1) making spending effective — the budget effort is high, the PISA results gap with comparable countries has widened, and the debate concerns allocation (supervision, continuing training, educational digital tools); (2) reducing the effect of social background, a structural weak point highlighted by each PISA edition; (3) retaining and paying teachers in a labour market that is competitive for scientific and technical profiles.

Placed in its OECD environment, France appears as a system that spends more than the average for unevenly competitive results: a strong point in combating dropout, a relative weakness on the higher-education coverage rate and on PISA achievement.

Three takeaways. (1) High effort, average cost per pupil. At 5.6% of GDP, France spends more than the EU/OECD average, but its spending per pupil (€10,265) remains below that of Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. The per-head effort is therefore more modest than it appears, mainly because of a denser young demography than in the comparator countries.

(2) Dropout: a benchmark performance. France's 7.7% early-leaving rate is the best in the panel — a gain that results from a detection and training-obligation policy sustained over time. The gap with Germany (12.9%) or the United Kingdom (10.9%) is significant.

(3) Lagging higher education, broader supervision. The tertiary enrolment rate (71.5%) is 5 to 9 points below the OECD peers. The pupil/teacher ratio (18.2) is one of the highest in the panel, a sign of broader supervision per adult — a parameter that weighs on the performance of primary and lower-secondary education according to comparative analyses (OECD, IPP, France Stratégie).