By compiling public data on the success rates of driving schools in France, Cantal is among the worst metropolitan departments at the start of this year.
With a 46.1% pass rate for the practical exam at the beginning of June, when we conducted our research, it is just ahead of neighboring Corrèze (44.1%) and Essonne (45.9%), the last in the ranking. The pass rate has dropped in 54 departments out of 101.
Passing the driving license in free fall for 10 years in Cantal
What is questionable, in the particular case of Cantal, is the sudden drop in ten years. In 2014, the department was among the thirty best in France, with a 64.66% success rate in the exam (national average at 60.4%). This loss of 18.6 points is the second biggest drop recorded in metropolitan France over the period (behind Nièvre, which went from 71.3% to 51.8% success).
Since 2022, Cantal has lost 8.43 success points, going from 54.5% to 46.1%.
Around Cantal, Aveyron (51.3%) is also one of the poor performers, while Puy-de-Dôme (61.7%), Allier (63.6%) and Haute-Loire (69.7%) are doing better.
Pierre Chambaud and Nicolas Certes
