Rights and duties
Voting, freedoms, obligations, justice
A 10-question sample to revise this topic — take the full mock exam (40 questions)
Revision sheet — Rights and duties
A major topic: 11 of the 40 questions. The official programme (the référentiel of the decree of 10 October 2025) splits it into three sub-topics: fundamental rights (2 questions), the obligations and duties of people residing in France (3 questions) and situational questions (6 questions). This sheet covers the whole of the programme.
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Fundamental rights rest on three texts: the 1958 Constitution, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) and the Environmental Charter (2004).
- The right to vote is acquired at 18.
- Every right comes with duties: obeying the law and respecting others, paying your taxes.
- Freedoms are exercised within the law, respecting others' rights and public order.
1. Fundamental rights (2 questions)
They rest on the 1958 Constitution, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) and the Environmental Charter (2004).
- Individual freedoms — being master of one's movements and choices: freedom of movement, of marriage and of divorce.
- Freedoms of opinion — freedom of opinion, of conscience, of expression and of belief (free expression is bounded: no insult, defamation or incitement to hatred).
- Social and economic rights — guaranteeing dignified living conditions (health, social protection, education).
- Guaranteeing principles — human dignity, physical and moral integrity, equality before the law, presumption of innocence.
2. Obligations and duties of people residing in France (3 questions)
- Obey the law and court decisions; freedoms stop where those of others begin and where public order requires (security, tranquillity, public health, respect for dignity).
- Pay your taxes and social contributions.
- Respect others, their property and the environment, and contribute to collective life through work.
- Take part in defence: census registration at 16 and the Defence and Citizenship Day (JDC).
- Ensure your children's schooling (compulsory from 3 to 16).
- Take part in democratic life: vote and, where required, serve as a juror in a criminal court (cour d'assises).
Asserting your rights: equality before justice applies to all; discrimination (in hiring, housing…) is prohibited and punished; you can refer a matter to the Rights Defender.
3. Situational questions (6 questions)
More than half of this topic's questions describe a practical case: an insult or discrimination, harassment, violence, neighbours, a right being denied. They are never published in advance: what can be learned is the method.
The method in 4 reflexes
- Look for the legal rule, not the opinion. The right answer is the one that applies the law.
- Rely on the values of the Republic. Non-discrimination, equality before the law, respect for the dignity and integrity of the person.
- Favour dialogue first, then legal recourse. Talk about it, then turn to the competent body: employer, town hall, police or gendarmerie, Défenseur des droits, the courts.
- Eliminate extreme answers. Taking justice into your own hands, seeking revenge, threatening — but also "do nothing" or "wait until you have proof" — are almost always wrong.
Emergency reflexes
- 15 medical · 17 police/gendarmerie · 18 fire · 112 European number · 114 (SMS, deaf and hard-of-hearing)
- 3919 violence against women · 119 child in danger
- Failing to assist a person in danger is an offence: the right reflex is to alert the emergency services.
Two markers that come up often
- Public order: freedoms may be limited for security, tranquillity, public health and respect for dignity. That is what lies behind night-time noise rules or the ban on fly-tipping.
- Freedom of expression: it stops at insult, defamation and incitement to hatred — including online.
Example: "Your neighbour makes loud noise every evening after 10pm." Apply the rule (public tranquillity is part of public order), follow dialogue → recourse (speak to them, then contact the town hall or police), and rule out the extremes ("make just as much noise back", "do nothing").
Common mistakes
- Thinking free expression is unlimited: it stops at insult, defamation and incitement to hatred.
- Thinking a right implies no duties.
- Forgetting the Environmental Charter (2004) among the fundamental texts.
- Confusing the right to vote (18) with the age of criminal responsibility.
Tip: read the situational questions carefully (spot "except", "not", "compulsory"), then practise with the timed mock exam.
