The present bulletin on education in France is another in the Office of Education's long established series on education in other countries. France is of particular interest because of its strong educational traditions and its dedication to democratic principles. In the process of gathering information for this study, the author visited schools in France, interviewed teachers and other school officials, and analyzed materials published in France as well as those in the United States. The first part of the document, presented here, contains the following: (1) General characteristics of the country; (2) History of French education--the rise of public schools from the 18th century, and changing structure and content; (3) Administrative structure--national control, and local control; (4) Nursery school and kindergarten--general organization, and curriculum; (5) The elementary school--enrollments, general organization, teachers and their training, teaching methods, curriculum, examinations, trends and changes, lower secondary school, and proposed reforms in "Cours Complementaire"; and (6) Academic secondary education--enrollments, educational opportunity, teachers and their training, curriculum sections, language study, science and mathematics, examinations, revision of examinations, teacher methods, reform of 1959 and other changes, new reform of 1962, French and American comparisons, and post-secondary classes. Individual chapters contain footnotes. (Contains 28 tables and 1 map.) [Due to its size, this volume has been processed as two separate parts. This first part includes the Foreword through Chapter VI. The second part (ED544097) includes Chapter VII through the Bibliography. The cover page and table of contents are repeated in the second part. Best copy available has been provided.]