The teacher training reform, set for the 2026 session, faces hurdles due to the failure to pass the 2026 finance bill. A special law, to be reviewed on Tuesday, December 23, would simply extend the 2025 budget without enabling new measures. This endangers the organization of the new bac +3 recruitment exams, with 88,000 candidates registered.
The reform of teacher training for primary, middle, and high schools progresses amid budget turmoil. Starting in 2026, recruitment exams shift to bac +3 level, followed by two years of paid master's-level training. A two-year transition phase includes two exams per discipline that year: one at bac +3 and one at bac +5.
The failure of the joint committee on December 19 between senators and deputies on the 2026 finance bill undermines this rollout. Without an adopted budget, a special law is set for parliamentary review on December 23. It would merely replicate the 2025 budget, barring any new measures.
Bac +5 exams could proceed as before, but the new bac +3 exam raises concerns. With 7,900 trainee positions planned at this level and 88,000 candidates registered, organization remains uncertain. Education Minister Edouard Geffray voiced worries: “This end-of-degree exam is new (…). If the 2026 finance bill isn’t passed, for now I don’t know how to organize this exam,” he stated on December 18 on France 2's “Les Quatre Vérités” program.
This scenario highlights the reform's challenges in a tense parliamentary environment, where funding for the 7,900 trainee spots isn't secured without a finance law.
