A 14-day study plan for the Vivre Ensemble exam

Two weeks at twenty to thirty minutes a day is enough to clear 28/40, provided those minutes are active. This plan splits the effort according to the real weight of the subjects and builds in spaced repetition.

The principles behind the plan#

• Half the time on institutions, which are worth 20 questions out of 40.
• Active recall: you answer before you feel ready.
• Spaced repetition: each subject is revisited several times, never in one block.
• Three timed mock exams, spread across the period.

Before you start: register for a session. A date in the diary changes your consistency radically. Careful — registration is final, and a new registration is only accepted one month after the date previously chosen.

Week 1 — Discover and build#

Day 1 — The format, not the material (20 min)#

Revise nothing. Learn the exam:

• 40 questions, 60 minutes, 28/40 to pass
• split of 10 rights / 20 institutions / 10 history
• one correct answer per question

Then take the simulator without having revised. The score you get is your baseline, not a verdict. Above all, note your result per subject.

Day 2 — Institutions: the foundations (30 min)#

The political system, the three powers, the Grand Duke, the Government.

Card to produce: for each, composition, role, powers, relations.

Absolutely to remember: the Grand Duke appoints and dismisses the Government, which is accountable to the Chamber of Deputies.

Day 3 — Institutions: Chamber and Council of State (30 min)#

The highest-yield distinction in the whole exam.

• Chamber: 60 deputies, elected for 5 years, 4 constituencies, votes laws
• Council of State: 21 appointed members, issues an opinion, does not vote

Also learn the path of a law: government bill (Government) / parliamentary bill (deputy) → committee → Council of State opinion → vote → promulgation by the Grand Duke.

Reading: Chamber of Deputies and Council of State.

Day 4 — Fundamental rights: the sources (25 min)#

1789, 1948, the European Convention, the EU Charter.

The decisive distinction: Convention → Council of Europe → Strasbourg; Charter → European Union → Luxembourg.

Also review days 2 and 3 for five minutes, from memory.

Day 5 — Institutions: the courts (30 min)#

The two branches and the Constitutional Court.

• Judicial branch: justices of the peace (Luxembourg, Diekirch, Esch), district courts (Luxembourg, Diekirch), Superior Court of Justice
• Administrative branch: Administrative Tribunal, Administrative Court
• Constitutional Court: conformity of laws, seized by preliminary question

Day 6 — History: from the origins to 1867 (25 min)#

963 Siegfried and the Lucilinburhuc, 1354 duchy, 1815 Grand Duchy, 1839 borders, 1867 neutrality.

Build a narrative thread rather than a list: isolated dates get lost.

Day 7 — First mock exam (30 min)#

Sit a complete, timed paper. Do not revise beforehand.

Then analyse: which subject is weakest? Which mistakes are confusions rather than gaps?

Week 2 — Consolidate and automate#

Day 8 — Institutions: the communes (25 min)#

Municipal council (elected, 6 years, deliberative) and college of the mayor and aldermen (executive). Municipal competences, State supervision.

Review days 2, 3 and 5 for five minutes.

Day 9 — Elections (25 min)#

• Legislative: 5 years, 60 deputies, proportional, reserved to Luxembourg nationals
• Municipal: 6 years, open to foreign residents subject to conditions
• European: 5 years

The trap: 5 years / 6 years. The longest mandate is the local one.

Day 10 — Fundamental rights: content and limits (25 min)#

The families of rights in the Constitution, the limits (age, incapacity, conviction, nationality), the three levels of protection.

Reading: Who protects fundamental rights.

Day 11 — History: the wars and the post-war years (30 min)#

1914 occupation, 1919 Charlotte and universal suffrage, 1921 UEBL, 1940 invasion, 1941 census, 1942 general strike, 1944 liberation and the Battle of the Bulge, then Benelux, UN, NATO, Council of Europe.

The thread: neutrality protected nothing, hence the European commitment.

Day 12 — History: Europe (25 min)#

1951 ECSC, 1957 Rome, 1985 Schengen, 1992 Maastricht, 2002 euro, 2007 Lisbon. The European institutions based in Luxembourg.

Watch out for the three councils: Council of Europe, Council of the European Union, European Council.

Day 13 — Second mock exam + anti-mistake card (35 min)#

A complete timed paper, then re-read the card of classic confusions:

Do not confuse
Chamber (60, elected, votes)	Council of State (21, appointed, advises)
Council of Europe (Convention, Strasbourg)	EU (Charter, Luxembourg)
Legislative (5 years)	Municipal (6 years)
1815 (Grand Duchy)	1839 (borders)
Constitutional Court	Administrative Court
The Grand Duke appoints	The Chamber gives confidence

Day 14 — Third mock exam and logistics (30 min)#

One last timed paper. If you clear 28/40 comfortably for the third time, you are ready.

Then, without revising further:

• prepare the identity document used at registration and your social security card;
• check the address, the time and the journey;
• allow plenty of travel time.

See: exam day.

If you have more than two weeks#

Spread over three or four weeks and add:

• a fourth and fifth mock exam;
• a full day devoted solely to institutions, the heaviest subject;
• a re-read of the cards at D-10, D-5 and D-1.

If you have less than a week#

Prioritise without hesitation:

1. Day 1: exam format + Chamber/Council of State + who appoints the Government
2. Day 2: courts + communes + elections (5/6 years)
3. Day 3: fundamental rights, sources, and the Council of Europe / EU distinction
4. Day 4: key dates in history and Europe
5. Day 5: two timed mock exams and the anti-mistake card

Not ideal, but the twenty institution questions remain covered — and that is where the result is decided.

The stopping criterion#

Do not go to the exam on a feeling. The criterion is objective:

Three consecutive mock exams, on different days, comfortably above 28/40.

Aim for 32 or more, to absorb stress and unexpected questions. If you are not there, another month is not a failure: it is a rational decision.

Good luck. Start with the free simulator to set your baseline.