President Macron has begun an overhaul of the baccalauréat, the cherished school-leavers’ examination in France.

Successive governments have shied away from changing the 210-year-old rite of passage but Mr Macron, embarking on one of the most daring reforms of his presidency, is braving threats of industrial action by teachers and the contempt of sections of the intellectual world by dumping some of the rigour of “le bac”. It will be brought closer to British A levels and other European tests.

Unions have voiced outrage over new features of the exam which include continuous assessment, a 30-minute oral presentation and forcing pupils to pick a handful of subjects rather than studying up to 12. The pupils will now sit only four written tests to the end