LE FIGARO
September 2, 2025
By Romain Mercier
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🎓 Dans un français qui frôle la perfection alors que ce n’est que sa «troisième langue après l’arabe et l’anglais», Jenine Kanafani, élève égyptienne en terminale au Lycée Français du Caire, raconte comment elle a eu 20/20 à l’écrit et à l’oral du bac de français, Fille d’une auteure égyptienne ayant résidé en France durant de nombreuses années, Jenine a choisi L’É tranger d’Albert Camus lors de son épreuve orale, «Je l’ai choisi parce que j’adore la philosophie derrière le livre avec l’absurdisme et l’existentialisme, mais c’est aussi parce qu’on l’avait beaucoup étudié l’année passée», détaille l’adolescente. Article à lire ici

How an Egyptian high school student got two 20/20s in the French baccalaureate
Passionate about Camus and the French language, this student from Cairo adopted an unusual study method.
In French that borders on perfection-though it is only her "third language after Arabic and English"Jenine Kanafani, a senior at the Lycée français. du Caire, explains how she earned 20/20 in both the written and oral French baccalaureate exams. The daughter of an Egyptian author who lived in France for many years, Jenine chose L’É tranger by Albert Camus for her oral exam. "I chose it because I love the philosophy behind the book, with its absurdism and existentialism, but also because we had studied it a lot last year," the teenager explained.
An in-depth knowledge of the work, coupled with confident oral skills and fluency-greatly supported by daily conversations in French with her mother-enabled the high school student to achieve excellence. 'I progressed as much thanks to the French Lycée of course, but it's also by speaking with my mother every day.' Although she has a scientific profile with specialties in economics and social sciences, physics-chemistry, and mathematics, the teenager "worked hard, especially during the long All Saints' and spring vacations, to achieve these exceptional results.

"The best school system in the world"
Yet Jenine has a busy schedule, programmed down to the minute. "My typical day is: I get up at six, spend an hour on the road to get to school, attend my classes, and then I train four hours of rhythmic gymnastics," the young Egyptian says simply.
For the teenager, "the French school system is the best in the world,"with classes running from 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. "The system teaches you autonomy and independence, so I think it prepares us very well for university." Tireless Jenine is also a class president and, above all, a member of a "very important club at school," as she describes it, called Pas un pas de plus ("Not One More"), which aims to fight "against sexual harassment, which is unfortunately very common in Egypt," she laments.

"I'm aiming for Harvard, Sciences Po, or the Sorbonne"
Eager to pursue a career in politics or economics in Egypt, the teenager first wants to study abroad. "All doors are open, so I'm aiming for Harvard in the United States, or Sciences Po and the Sorbonne in France." An example that will no doubt revive debates about the level of French students in their own mother tongue. More details