general culture theme and expression of the BTS 2027

Whatever your BTS specialty, you will take the written test of general knowledge and expression, also called CGE). The test is structured around a compulsory theme studied in the 2nd year of BTS, defined each year by a ministerial decree published in Official bulletin (April 23, 2026). If you take your CGE test in 2027, the theme will be: true from false.

The true from the false: the problem of the CGE theme of the BTS 2027

The theme true from false questions our relationship to truth and illusion in a world where the boundaries between the real and the artificial are increasingly difficult to draw. Language and visual manipulations, the circulation of fake news and digital technologies – notably artificial intelligence – confuse our ability to discern what is true from what is false. Yet illusion can also have aesthetic or cognitive value: it can reveal deep truths and enrich our understanding of the world.

True and false are not opposed but linked, and it is crucial to understand this relationship to distinguish the artificial from reality without falling into the disinformation.

A varied bibliography to enrich your thinking

A list of literary, cinematic works and other resources is offered each year to help students delve deeper into the theme and illustrate their thoughts. Among the recommended references:

Literature and essays:

• Louis Aragon, The True Lie
• Margaret AtwoodLa Servante écarlate
• Honoré de BalzacLost illusions
• Jorge Luis Borges, Fictions
• Octavia Butler,The Parable of the Sower
• Pedro Calderón de La BarcaLife is a dream
• Emmanuel Carrère, The Adversary
• Francis-Bernard Huighe,ÂDisinformation: the weapons of falsehood
• Annie Le Brun, Du trop de réalité
• Edgar Morin, The Rumor of Orléans

Films :

• Steven Spielberg, Arrête-moi si tu peux (Catch Me If You Can)
• Agnès Varda, The Documentary
• Paul Verhoeven, She
• Peter Weir, The Truman Show

Comics :

• Alain Ayroles, The Furious Indies
• Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, 1989-96
• Alan Moore, David Lloyd, V for Vendetta
• Benoît Peeters and François Schuiten, Dark Cities

Why a general culture and expression test at the BTS?

The educational objective of the BTS CGE test is to develop in students their ability to analyze, reflect and argue on current affairs or cultural issues.

The written test of General Culture and Expression of the BTS lasts3 hours. It consists oftwo partseach rated out of 10 points:

• a corpus analysis
  This involves answering several questions (2 to 4) from a file of documents. The questions relate to the understanding, analysis, comparison or interpretation of the proposed texts or images.

[FICHE Méthodo] ➜ compare documents from the corpus

• writing an essay
  Each candidate has the choice between two topics to write a structured, argumentative and personal text, linked to the annual theme. The objective is to demonstrate one’s ability to construct logical thinking, to qualify one’s ideas and to illustrate one’s point.

[FICHE Méthodo] ➜ CGE testing methodology