Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credits: Thomas Samson / AFP 16:07 pm, May 04, 2023

The École normale supérieure de Lyon said Thursday that some 4,400 candidates for the prestigious and highly selective competition of the institution will have to retake the French composition test, because of the loss of copies. The replacement event will take place on Saturday, May 13.

Candidates for the prestigious and highly selective competition of the École normale supérieure de Lyon will have to retake the French composition test, due to the loss of copies, the school said Thursday. "An envelope of copies of the French composition test, which took place on April 13, did not reach the admission and competition service of the ENS de Lyon, after being sent by a writing center on April 17," ENS Lyon said in a statement.

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A replacement test on May 13

According to the establishment, "the carrier declared to have deposited them at the ENS de Lyon on April 21, without formal proof of receipt. Since then, the ENS de Lyon has deployed all means to find these copies, also by calling on the service provider mandated by the sending center". "After a week of fruitless searches, the ENS de Lyon resolved to declare these copies permanently lost. On 2 May, (...) a decision was taken to cancel the event and to organise a replacement event".

The replacement test will take place on Saturday, May 13, from 9 a.m. to 15 p.m., according to a message sent to candidates, a copy of which AFP has obtained. On Twitter, many candidates denounce this situation, pointing for example, "a sacred disrespect for students and teachers," can be read on the account of a candidate.

Thank you ENS Lyon for losing our copies of one of the most prestigious competitions of France it seems. Without specifying the postponement of the test of special history geo because of subject disclosed. Sacred disrespect for students and teachers. We BLOW #ensos

— (@thhlii) May 3, 2023

The candidates concerned - some 4,400 for a hundred places - are mostly from a literary preparatory class and have spent at least two years studying for this highly selective competition. The ENS Lyon competition had already been disrupted this year, with the postponement of ten days of the geography specialty test "due to the erroneous disclosure of the subject of the geographical map commentary test in a writing center," the school said in April.