Living in French society: French civic exam 2026 questions
Emergency numbers, health, work, public services: this theme covers how everyday life works in practice in France.
The theme "Living in French society" accounts for 4 of the 40 questions on the 2026 French civic exam, which you pass with 32 correct answers out of 40 in 45 minutes maximum.
- 4 of the 40 questions on exam day
- 15 practice questions on this theme
1.Which number do you call for the SAMU (medical emergency)?
- a.15
- b.17
- c.18
- d.115
Show the answer
Correct answer: 15
Dial 15 to reach the SAMU in a medical emergency.
Reference: Numéros d'urgence
2.Which number do you call to reach the police or gendarmerie?
- a.17
- b.15
- c.18
- d.112
3.Which number do you call to reach the fire brigade?
- a.18
- b.15
- c.17
- d.119
4.Public schooling in France is…
- a.Free and secular
- b.Paid but secular
- c.Free and religious
- d.Reserved for French citizens
5.What is the single European emergency number?
- a.112
- b.15
- c.17
- d.911
Show the answer
Correct answer: 112
112 is the single emergency number valid throughout the European Union.
Reference: Numéros d'urgence
6.What is the Social Security (Sécurité sociale) for?
- a.To protect against risks (illness, retirement…) and reimburse care
- b.To collect taxes
- c.To organise elections
- d.To issue residence permits
7.What does the SMIC refer to?
- a.The legal minimum wage
- b.An income tax
- c.A housing benefit
- d.A retirement pension
8.To work legally in France, a foreign national must generally have…
- a.A residence permit authorising work
- b.Only a passport
- c.A bank account
- d.Housing in France
9.Dialling 115 allows you to reach…
- a.The emergency housing service (Samu social)
- b.The fire brigade
- c.The police
- d.The town hall
10.What is the role of the attending physician (médecin traitant)?
- a.To coordinate and follow the patient's care
- b.To set the amount of taxes
- c.To issue residence permits
- d.To pay for medicines
11.What is the carte Vitale used for?
- a.To prove your health-insurance rights and ease reimbursements
- b.To vote
- c.To drive
- d.To travel abroad
Show the answer
Correct answer: To prove your health-insurance rights and ease reimbursements
The carte Vitale proves your health-insurance rights and enables reimbursement of medical care.
Reference: Sécurité sociale
12.To obtain a birth certificate or get married, you go to…
- a.The town hall (mairie)
- b.The police prefecture
- c.The commercial court
- d.Social Security
13.In a department, who represents the State?
- a.The prefect
- b.The mayor
- c.The MP
- d.The regional president
14.The number 3919 lets you reach…
- a.A helpline for women victims of violence
- b.The fire brigade
- c.The town hall
- d.The tax office
15.Which body helps people find a job in France?
- a.France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
- b.The prefecture
- c.The Constitutional Council
- d.Only the town hall
The other exam themes
- Principles and values of the Republic
- Rights and duties
- History, geography and culture
- Institutional and political system
Our guides to passing the exam
- Official format, pass mark and how it works
- The 5 exam themes, explained
- Situational questions: how to answer them
- Who must take the civic exam?
- Registration, price, centres and results
- Failed the exam? How to retake it
Official sources: Arrêté of 10 October 2025 on the civic exam (Légifrance) · Service-public.gouv.fr: how to take the civic exam · Ministry of the Interior: civic training. Updated on
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