France cancels ‘bac’ exam for first time since Napoleon’s reign

French high-school students will not sit the traditional ‘baccalaureat’ (bac) exam this summer due to the coronavirus, the education minister said on Friday. This is an unprecedented move that highlights the scale of the disruption caused by the pandemic.

It is the first time since its inception in 1808 under Napoleon Bonaparte that the ‘bac’ exam will not take place in its traditional form. Even the sweeping student and labor protests of May 1968 did not prevent the exam from going ahead.

Instead, students will receive an average score in each subject, calculated from marks given for tests and homework throughout the year, Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said in a televised address.

France has confirmed nearly 60,000 cases of the coronavirus so far, and as of Friday it had recorded 5,387 deaths, Reuters said – the fourth highest tally in the world. Schools and universities have been shut since early March. The minister said a resumption of classes in early May was, for now, just a “hypothesis.”