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✈️ Is your family moving to France soon? September is just around the corner… and you may be wondering how to enroll your children in school. Here’s a helpful overview of the French education system:

👉 In France, school is mandatory from the age of 3. The public education system is structured into several cycles:
• Preschool (école maternelle) – ages 3 to 6: Petite, Moyenne, and Grande sections
• Primary school (école élémentaire) – ages 6 to 11: from CP (1st grade) to CM2 (5th grade)
• Middle school (collège) – ages 11 to 15: from 6e to 3e
• High school (lycée) – ages 15 to 18: seconde, première, terminale, followed by the baccalauréat exam

🏫 There are different types of schools in France:
• Public schools: free, secular (non-religious), and run by the State
• Private schools under contract: fee-paying (typically €1,000 to €5,000/year), officially recognized by the French Ministry of Education. Most of these schools have a religious identity, often Catholic.
• International or independent schools: more expensive (up to €20,000/year), with greater pedagogical freedom

📝 For public schools, enrollment is usually based on your place of residence and handled through your local town hall (mairie). For private schools, you must contact the school directly.

📋 Common documents required include:
• Proof of address
• Family record book or passport
• Up-to-date health records

⚠️ Mandatory vaccinations are strictly required for school and daycare attendance. France requires 11 vaccines for children, including those against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, and whooping cough.

💡 These administrative steps can feel overwhelming—especially when you’re navigating a new country, from a distance, and in the middle of summer.

At Expat Services In Paris, we support international families through every step:
✅ Understanding your school options
✅ Identifying suitable public or private schools
✅ Managing application files and deadlines
✅ Communicating with local authorities and schools
✅ Ensuring vaccination and health compliance

The French healthcare system is often ranked among the best in the world — but for newcomers, it can feel a bit overwhelming at first 🌀

Here are 4 key steps to get started:

1️⃣ Register with the French Social Security (Assurance Maladie)
As soon as you are settled in France, either your employer or you can initiate your affiliation with the CPAM (Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie).
This is the starting point for obtaining your personal Social Security number — essential for any medical coverage.
👉 Don’t forget to register your spouse and children, even if they’re not working. Each person receives their own number from age 16.

2️⃣ Get your Carte Vitale
Once your registration is complete, you’ll receive your Carte Vitale. This is your health ID card, to be presented at each medical appointment or when picking up prescriptions. It contains your administrative information and helps speed up reimbursements.
💡 Note: this card is not used for payment — only for identification.

3️⃣ Subscribe to a complementary health insurance (Mutuelle)
The public healthcare system covers part of your medical expenses. A mutuelle covers the remaining costs, depending on your coverage plan.
Most mutuelles are now automatically connected to the CPAM, which simplifies the reimbursement process.
👉 If not, make sure to activate NOEMIE teletransmission to avoid sending your claims manually.

4️⃣ Book a medical appointment
In France, appointments are usually made by phone or online. Platforms like Doctolib let you search for practitioners and book directly in just a few clicks.
⚠️ Be aware: there is a general shortage of doctors across France — don’t wait until the last minute to book your appointment!

📌 These steps can take a bit of time, but once everything is in place, you’ll have fast, reliable, and affordable access to healthcare.

Need guidance through the process? That’s exactly what Expat Services in Paris offers.

If you’re an expatriate parent in France, you may have already heard the word “bac” whispered nervously in school corridors or around the dinner table.

The baccalauréat — or bac — is the final exam that students take at the end of high school (lycée), usually around 17 or 18 years old. It’s a major milestone in the French academic system and a true rite of passage.

Here’s what you need to know:
📚 The lycée lasts 3 years:
• Seconde (10th grade) – general orientation
• Première (11th grade) – choice of majors (spécialités)
• Terminale (12th grade) – final year leading to the bac

📝 Since 2021, the bac includes:
• Continuous assessment (contrôle continu)
• Specialty exams (EDS – enseignements de spécialité) in chosen subjects
• A major oral exam known as the Grand Oral, where students defend a topic they’ve worked on all year.

It’s a demanding process — both for students and their families — especially when navigating it in a second language and unfamiliar system.

💡If your teenager is enrolled in a French lycée, now is the time to support them — and maybe learn a few acronyms along the way: EDS (enseignements de spécialité), CCF (contrôle en cours de formation), Grand Oral, Parcoursup…

Our job at Expat Services In Paris, is also to help parents understand the system and feel equipped to support their children through these key transitions.

📞 Moving to France with school-aged children? We’re here to help you navigate both the logistics and the cultural curve.

It’s probably the most beloved month of the year for the French… but also one of the most confusing for newly arrived expats! With multiple public holidays, extended weekends (called “ponts”), local traditions and a slower national rhythm, May in France has its own set of rules. Here’s what you need to know to enjoy it—and make the most of it!

📅 In May, France slows down. Really slows down. There can be up to four public holidays:
* May 1st (Labour Day),
* May 8th (Victory in Europe Day),
* Ascension Thursday,
* and Whit Monday (Pentecost).

The result? Many people take extra days off to create long weekends—known as “bridges.” If you’re in the middle of relocating, it’s best to plan ahead: schools, administrative offices, and even some shops may run on a slower schedule.

🌼 On May 1st, no one works… but everyone offers a sprig of lily of the valley as a lucky charm. It’s one of the few days when anyone can sell these flowers without a license—look out for them on street corners and markets. A lovely tradition to discover (and adopt!).

👩‍👧 Unlike most countries that celebrate Mother’s Day in early May, France honors mothers on the last Sunday of the month (unless it falls on Pentecost weekend, in which case it’s postponed). This year, Mother’s Day is on Sunday, May 26th. Children often prepare handmade poems or gifts at school—a simple yet cherished tradition.

🎓 May also marks the beginning of the stressful baccalauréat season, the final exams for high school students. If you have teenagers in French schools, you’ll likely hear about written exams, oral presentations, and the Grand Oral. It’s a key moment in the academic year—and in family life.

☀️ In short: May in France is full of tradition, long weekends and a gentle springtime pace. It’s the perfect month to ease into French culture and lifestyle if you’ve just arrived.