Livret du citoyen 2026: the new official booklet explained

What the livret du citoyen is

The livret du citoyen is a free booklet published by the French Ministry of the Interior. It sets out the knowledge and values expected of candidates for French nationality: the principles and symbols of the Republic, how institutions work, rights and duties, history, geography and everyday life in France.

The new edition is written for the current two-step naturalisation process. Its foreword says it plainly: you sit the civic exam first, to obtain the attestation your application file needs, and if your file is accepted you are then invited to an interview at the préfecture, sous-préfecture or consulate. The booklet asks you to study it "before the civic exam and the interview". It also restates the language requirement for naturalisation: level B2, oral and written.

What changed in the June 2026 edition

Almost everything. The page count nearly tripled, and the structure was rebuilt around the civic exam introduced on 1 January 2026.

If you saved a copy of the livret before summer 2026, throw it away. The 2022 edition is formally repealed, and many websites still distribute it, or sell repackaged "2026" versions of their own making. The only current official edition says "Edition juin 2026" in its page footers.

Inside: 5 parts that mirror the exam themes

The June 2026 edition is organised in five parts, and they map one for one onto the 5 official exam themes:

1. Principles and values of the Republic: the motto and the symbols of France, then the four constitutional principles, an indivisible, secular (laïque), democratic and social Republic, with a substantial section on laïcité.
2. Institutional and political system: democracy and the rule of law, the territorial organisation of the Republic including overseas territories, and the European Union and its institutions.
3. Rights and duties of citizens: fundamental rights on one side, obligations and duties on the other.
4. History, geography and culture: the main periods and figures of French history, territory and geography, culture and heritage.
5. Living in French society: daily life, working in France (employment law, the SMIC minimum wage, workplace rights), and family life.

Two annexes close the booklet: the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 and the Charter of rights and duties of the French citizen, both of which the exam programme expects you to know.

This alignment is the booklet's real value for revision: each part you read has a matching theme in theme-by-theme practice, with a known weight per exam. Principles and values plus rights and duties alone account for 22 of the 40 exam questions.

Where to download it

The livret is free. You can get the official PDF in two places:

1. The ministry's documentation page: immigration.interieur.gouv.fr, the simplest option.
2. The Journal officiel itself, where the full booklet is annexed to the arrêté of 3 July 2026 on Légifrance, the authoritative legal source.

Prefer these official sources over any re-hosted copy: outdated and modified versions circulate widely, and a booklet that looks current can still teach you pre-2026 rules.

How to use it in your revision

The booklet is the syllabus, not a training tool. It tells you what to know; it does not check whether you know it. A simple method that works:

1. Read one part at a time, starting with the heavyweights: principles and values, then rights and duties.
2. After each part, practise the matching theme in QCM format to find what did not stick, with an explanation after every answer.
3. Keep the scenario questions in mind: 12 of the 40 exam questions are unpublished scenarios that apply the booklet's values to everyday situations. Understanding parts 1 and 3 deeply matters more than memorising them.
4. Finish with mock exams in real conditions, 40 questions in 45 minutes, until you pass the 32-mark consistently.

Frequently asked questions