Well I think he made a bit of an exaggeration here. Up until the end of high school it's perfectly possible to get good grades in all courses. However after hi

Well I think he made a bit of an exaggeration here. Up until the end of high school it's perfectly possible to get good grades in all courses. However after high school, in the "classes préparatoires" it is perfectly normal for everyone (including the best pupils who aced their exams and all) to get extremely low grades (like 4/20) repeatedly because the notation system changes from there: instead of gaining points when giving the right answer, you lose points for every wrong one, and it's extremely easy to make 15 or 20 minor errors on a 4 hours math assignment or philosophy dissertation. This is however, precisely done to "toughen up" students and make them master perfectly the courses in and out, and it works wonders (for those who can get through). Unfortunately this state of mind is rapidly losing ground in France too, and people more and more consider they are some sorts of "customers" "buying" a form of "education service" from schools, and that therefore if the children doesn't fare well it's the professor's fault, or the school's, or the ministry, or everyone else's but theirs or their stupid brats'.