French state education is well organised, well funded and with generally average to high standards in comparison to other European countries.

Since 1967, school has been obligatory for all children between the ages of 6 and 16. The school going community of about 13 million pupils is educated through a unified system, the general structure of which (schools, lower secondary schools and lycées) was gradually established in the 1960s and 1970s. Since the 1970s, France has also witnessed a salient development in pre-school education; all children aged between three and five years can attend nursery schools

The French system is complemented by a comprehensive network of private schools including international schools. Most of the private schools are supervised by the Ministry of Education and account for about 15% of pupils in primary education and 20% in secondary education, the bulk of which has remained stable in the past decade. Many schools are run by the Catholic church in partnership with the State (which pays the teachers). Private schools with no such contracts account for less than 50,000 pupils and depend on considerable financial contributions by families.