The livret du citoyen 2026: the complete summary for the civic exam

Before looking for questions, look for the source. Everything the civic exam checks about your knowledge comes from a single official document — free, public, published by the ministère de l’Intérieur: the livret du citoyen1. Knowing it means knowing exactly where to revise, and ceasing to pay for what the State gives away. Here is its content summarised, domain by domain, and how to use it without learning everything by heart.

The livret du citoyen is not just one revision manual among others: it is the reference foundation from which the administration draws. The civic exam’s 28 knowledge questions are taken directly from it2; the assimilation interview is also built on it. Mastering it does not mean revising more — it means revising in the right place.

The livret du citoyen is published by the ministère de l’Intérieur to present, to anyone engaged in a nationality or long-term residence procedure, the knowledge and values expected of a future citizen or resident: the principles of the Republic, its symbols, its institutions, the major landmarks of its history, and the rights and duties that come with belonging to the national community1.

It existed before the 2026 reform. Until then, it served mainly as a reference for the assimilation interview: the prefecture officer could draw their questions from it to check your knowledge of French society. Since 1^st January 2026, décret n° 2025-648 and the arrêté du 10 octobre 20253 have also made it the programme of the civic exam. A single foundation, now checked in two ways: through a multiple-choice test for the facts, through an interview for adherence.

The livret du citoyen can be downloaded freely, in PDF format, from the website of the ministère de l’Intérieur and the Direction générale des étrangers en France1. It is the only reference version: the one that is up to date with the texts in force.

The content of the livret matches the exam programme exactly. Service-public.gouv.fr, the reference intended for candidates, groups it into four major domains2:

1. Major landmarks of French history — the dates, periods and figures that structure the national narrative.
2. Principles, symbols and institutions of the Republic — the motto, the flag, laïcité, and how the branches of power work.
3. The exercise of French citizenship — rights, duties and participation in democratic life.
4. France’s place in Europe and in the world — the European Union and the country’s international role.

The ministry’s portal breaks the same programme down into five more granular revision themes, more convenient for organising your work4: principles and values; institutional and political system; rights and duties; history, geography and culture; living in French society.

The chapters that follow summarise the essentials of each domain — not to replace the livret, but to give you its map before you read it.

The Republic rests on a motto — Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité — and on principles: the equality of all before the law, equality between women and men, and laïcité. France is an “indivisible, secular, democratic and social” Republic: it is the first sentence of the Constitution, and it is also the safest subject matter of the exam.

The symbols come up often: the tricolour flag (blue, white, red), La Marseillaise as the national anthem, Marianne as the figure of the Republic, 14 July as the national holiday, and the rooster among the emblems. These are easy points to secure — provided you have revised them once.

On the institutions side, the livret expects simple but precise landmarks: France is a Republic under the Fifth Republic since 1958; the President of the Republic is elected by direct universal suffrage for five years; the Parliament, made up of the National Assembly and the Senate, votes the law; the Prime Minister leads the government. Behind all of this lies a principle: the separation of powers11The three branches — executive (government), legislative (Parliament) and judicial (the judges) — are separated so that none dominates the others. It is a central idea of the livret, often tested..

On the history side, there’s no need to revise as if for a university exam. The livret asks for major landmarks: the Revolution of 1789 and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the abolition of slavery, the successive Republics, the two World Wars, European construction. The national holiday of 14 July refers to the storming of the Bastille (1789) and the Fête de la Fédération (1790) — a classic.

The rights and duties domain is the one closest to everyday life. Rights: voting and being elected, freedom of expression, equal access to public services, protection against discrimination. Duties: respecting the law and the values of the Republic, paying taxes, taking part in national defence and solidarity. It is also the ground for the exam’s scenario questions — where what is checked is not what you know, but what you would do.

Finally, the France’s place in Europe and in the world domain asks for a few landmarks on the European Union: France is a founding member, the euro is its currency, and European citizenship is added to French citizenship. Here the livret stays with the essentials — European flag, free movement, shared values.

The trap, with the livret du citoyen, would be to read it once and think you’re ready — or to learn it by heart, line by line. Neither works. Here is the method that does:

1. Read the livret once, for the overall picture. Not to memorise — to map out the four domains.
2. Practise with multiple-choice questions, theme by theme. It’s by answering that you retain, not by rereading. A few questions each day are worth more than one long session on Sunday.
3. Handle the scenario questions separately. The exam’s 12 concrete cases are not in the livret2: they test a reflex — turning to the law, treating everyone equally, respecting laïcité — that is built through practice, not through reading.
4. Simulate the exam. 40 questions in 45 minutes, in real conditions, to get into the rhythm before the big day.