The right to a good, free state school is part of France's republican folklore, the guarantor of its secular meritocracy. So new figures this week, based on the 2005 school-leaving exam (the baccalaureat or bac), may come as a surprise. Of the top 29 schools, all but one-the Lycee Henri Ⅳ on Paris's left bank-are private. The ranking, carried out by Le Figaro, took all lycees (secondary schools) with a 100% pass rate in the three main academic streams. This list was then compared with expected results, based on the socio-economic background of pupils: the results revealed the startlingly superior performance of private schools. Interestingly, central Paris does not monopolise the top places. At the pinnacle is the Lycee Epin, in the capital's suburbs. Others include the Lycee de Marcq, in Lille, and the Lycee Ozar Hatorah in Toulouse.
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