France Foreign Affairs Secretary English Tests 2027

France's 2027 secrétaire des affaires étrangères, cadre général, competition holds its written admissibility tests from September 23 through 25, 2026. The opening order says testing begins September 23 and takes place exclusively in Paris.

English is compulsory in all three routes. The written English test lasts three hours, carries coefficient 3, and a score below 10/20 is eliminatory. Admissible candidates later take a 30-minute oral English test in January 2027.

This is a professional diplomatic language assessment, not a speaking certificate. Start a free SpeakShark conversation for general oral fluency and use ministry rules and past papers for the concours.

Key takeaways

• Written tests run September 23 to 25, 2026.
• Testing is in Paris only under the opening order.
• Written English is 3 hours, coefficient 3.
• A written English score below 10/20 eliminates the candidate.
• Oral English has 30 minutes preparation and 30 minutes testing.
• The oral admission window is January 2027.

In this guide: calendar | routes | external | internal | oral | second language | scoring | statistics | next steps | research | FAQ

2027 cycle calendar

The competition is labelled 2027 because final admission and recruitment belong to that year. Its registration and written tests occur in 2026.

The ministerial order states that written tests begin September 23. The ministry's annual calendar gives the full September 23 to 25 window.

Candidates are summoned individually, so the personal convocation is the source for the exact English day, time and room inside that window. As of August 28, the public annual calendar did not break each written paper into a daily timetable.

The number of jobs for the 2027 external, internal and third competitions was still reserved for a later order. A prior cycle's ten main admissions should not be presented as the 2027 vacancy count.

Three routes use two different written English formats

The cadre général process has:

1. External competition for the published student or qualification route.
2. Internal competition for eligible public servants.
3. Third competition for eligible private-sector or association experience.

All three routes have four compulsory written tests and three compulsory oral tests. English appears at both stages.

The oral English format is shared across routes. This is why a candidate should identify the entry route before downloading a past English paper.

The concours differs from DCL English in France, which is a language diploma, and from IELTS dates in France, TOEIC dates in France, and TOEFL dates in France.

External competition written English

External candidates receive four questions written in English and answer them in English.

The subject domain is:

• Global issues.
• International economic current affairs.

The task requires four short written responses, not one generic essay. The three-hour limit gives an average of 45 minutes per question if divided evenly, including reading and review.

The English paper carries coefficient 3, equal to European Questions and the compulsory second foreign language. International Culture has coefficient 4.

The ministry publishes the 2026 English paper and best scripts. They show the implemented format after the 2024 reform without claiming that the 2027 topics will repeat.

For general written control, read English speaking and writing skills, English vocabulary and speaking skills, and English conversation topics for adults. Official annales remain the concours source.

Internal and third competition written English

Internal and third-route candidates solve a diplomatic or consular case from a professional dossier written in English. They then produce a professional document in English.

The test therefore combines:

1. Reading a professional dossier.
2. Identifying the diplomatic or consular problem.
3. Choosing an appropriate written-document format.
4. Organising relevant evidence.
5. Writing precise English for an administrative purpose.

It is not the same four-question task used externally. It also is not a translation exercise from French into English.

The ministry publishes a separate 2026 English annale for internal and third-route candidates. Candidates should not practise from the external paper alone.

Oral English for admissible candidates

English returns during admission.

The candidate listens to one or more English documents concerning European issues. The task is to:

1. Prepare for 30 minutes.
2. Present an analytical commentary in English.
3. Answer questions about the documents.
4. Answer additional jury questions on current-affairs themes.

The oral lasts 30 minutes and carries coefficient 3. The same structure applies to external, internal and third competitions.

This is listening, analysis, presentation and interaction in one test. Repeating a memorised speech cannot cover the full task because jury questions can move beyond the source documents.

The other mandatory oral tests are a jury interview with coefficient 6 and an oral in the selected second foreign language with coefficient 3.

For general delivery, practise English job interview role plays, office small talk, practice speaking alone, and free speaking-level checks. Start free speaking practice without treating it as a concours score.

The second foreign language is also compulsory

Candidates choose one language at registration:

• German.
• Spanish.
• Italian.
• Portuguese.

The written second-language paper uses short answers based on a dossier in that language. It lasts three hours, carries coefficient 3 and eliminates scores below 10/20.

The oral second-language paper mirrors the listening and analytical-commentary structure. It has 30 minutes preparation, 30 minutes testing and coefficient 3.

The opening order says changes to the compulsory and optional language choices are not accepted after registration closes. Taking a language different from the registered choice cancels that test for the candidate.

The English paper is compulsory regardless of which second language is selected. Choosing English as the second language is not an option because English already owns its own required test.

Eliminatory scores and admissibility

Every paper is scored from 0 to 20.

The 130-point floor is necessary but does not guarantee oral admission. The jury sets the admissible list after weighted written results.

A candidate must participate in every compulsory test. Missing a required paper prevents admissibility or admission.

The final ranking combines written, oral and any permitted optional-language points under the legal rules. If candidates tie, the first priority is the higher jury-interview mark, followed by the higher first written-test mark.

There is no published CEFR conversion that replaces the concours score. An IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL, DCL or Cambridge result does not waive the compulsory written or oral English tests.

What the 2026 statistics show

The previous cycle provides a public demand and selectivity baseline.

Only about 40.7% of registered candidates attended written tests across all routes. The official statistics display a 51.65% participation figure based on a different presentation of the totals, so raw route totals should be used transparently when calculating across all three routes.

Second-language choice was concentrated:

Those language-choice totals aggregate candidates across competition routes in the ministry's table. They do not state comparative pass rates by language.

Past selectivity does not determine the 2027 number of jobs, which still awaited a separate order on August 28.

What candidates should check before September 23

Use this source order:

1. Open the ministry's cadre général page.
2. Verify that the page refers to the 2027 cycle.
3. Check the individual convocation for exact English date, time and address.
4. Download the correct external or internal and third-route test summary.
5. Review the 2026 English annale for that route.
6. Verify the locked second-language choice.
7. Monitor the page for the later number-of-posts order.
8. If admissible, meet the December 3 information-form or RAEP deadline.

The written tests are in Paris exclusively under the opening order. Candidates should not infer a regional or remote centre from other French public competitions.

For source discipline, see questions before booking an English test. The calendar, opening order, convocation, annales and final results each serve a different purpose.

How we researched this guide

On August 28, 2026, we opened the official cadre général page through the existing browser profile. We checked the 2027 competition calendar, March 27 opening order, current Légifrance test rules, 2026 annales and official statistics.

The calendar supplied September 23 to 25. The opening order confirmed a September 23 start in Paris only and the December 3 post-admissibility document deadline. Légifrance supplied both written English formats, oral English structure, coefficients and eliminatory thresholds.

We preserved the absence of a published 2027 post count and a public paper-by-paper daily timetable. We did not invent an exact English day, reuse old rules, claim certificate exemptions or use SpeakShark customer data.

We are a speaking improvement tool. We are not an exam preparation provider, and we are not affiliated with France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Légifrance, the French government or any exam board. For test format, booking and official practice material, go to the exam body directly. Use SpeakShark to make your spoken English stronger, and use official material to learn the test.

FAQ

The written admissibility tests for the external, internal and third competitions are scheduled from September 23 through 25, 2026. The opening order states that testing begins September 23 and takes place exclusively in Paris. The ministry's provisional calendar places oral admission tests in January 2027 and final admission in February.

Yes. English is a compulsory three-hour written test with coefficient 3 in every route. External candidates answer four English questions on global issues and international economic current affairs. Internal and third-route candidates produce a professional English document after solving a diplomatic or consular case from an English dossier.

A written English score below 10 out of 20 is eliminatory for the external, internal and third competitions. The selected second foreign language has the same below-10 eliminatory rule. Candidates must also reach at least 130 weighted points across all written tests to become admissible for the oral stage.

Admissible candidates receive 30 minutes to prepare after listening to one or more English documents about European issues. They then give an analytical commentary and answer jury questions about the documents and other current-affairs themes. The oral lasts 30 minutes and carries coefficient 3 for all three competition routes.

Candidates choose German, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese as the compulsory second foreign language. The choice is locked after registration closes. In the 2026 cycle, Spanish was most common with 1,062 registrations, followed by German with 334, Italian with 242 and Portuguese with 64.

Official statistics show 1,702 external registrations, 335 internal registrations and 123 third-route registrations. Of those, 637, 186 and 56 attended written tests. The main admission lists contained five external, four internal and one third-route candidate, although the 2027 post count had not yet been fixed by August 28.

For general spoken English, start free daily practice. Premium costs $10 for one month, $25 for three months, or $69 for one year. See pricing.

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Sources

1. Cadre général official page, checked for current notices, annales and results.
2. MEAE 2027 competition calendar, checked for September and January windows.
3. March 27 opening order, checked for registration, Paris testing and document deadlines.
4. Légifrance Article 3, checked for written tests.
5. Légifrance Article 4, checked for oral tests.
6. Légifrance Article 6, checked for scoring and admissibility.
7. 2026 cadre général annales, checked for implemented English formats.
8. Official 2026 statistics, checked for registration, attendance and language choices.
9. SpeakShark pricing, checked for current free and paid options.

The ministry can change provisional dates, convocations, job counts and admission arrangements. Confirm the cadre général page and individual convocation before acting.