A transpcript of an interview with French students passsing their final exams translated from French.
Too much stress after the philosophy test, too much pressure to let out...
Étienne, a candidate for the bac ES [social and economic sciences baccalaureate], had only one desire today: to unwind before resuming his review.
-[Etienne] I know that if I stay at home, telling myself that I absolutely must work. Well... I won't know how to tackle it.I'll be jumpy about everything, but if I come here to unwind a little by playing tennis, I'll be in better shape to work afterward.
A quiz to test their math knowledge, review in the form of a game.
Étienne and his two friends now have all weekend to prepare for the rest of the tests, and they seem rather sure of themselves.
-[Friend] We worked all year long, so it's not today, in two days, that we're going to learn everything anyway, I mean it's not true. It's true we can review, but that doesn't mean you have to be stressed, uh, and then as you review, you realize that you know a lot of things, actually.
At the Marchals', the bac is a family affair. Étienne is the first of three children to take it. So for a month, his parents have been doing all they can to not distract him as he reviews.
-[Etienne] I've heard them say, "OK, we've got to be cool now, and all." I've heard that talk. I... I know they're making a particular effort to not impose this pressure on me, but I still feel it, I know it's there, I know I don't want to disappoint them.
-[Father] Of course I'm counting on him. Because... because it's a passage. We've already lived through many passages with our children. This one, it's important because society wants the baccalaureate to be a transition, too.
Tests start again on Monday with history-geography, then comes math, languages and science, a tough week ahead for the candidates before the results, anticipated in early July.
