Will you get a 10/10? Is the text designed to trap you? One could think so given how its author, Maurice Druon, sows grammatical exceptions and complex agreements.
The brilliant author of the *Accursed Kings* saga was a bit eccentric, even in his choice of words. The resistant, co-author of the *”Chant des partisans”* with his uncle Joseph Kessel, became a successful man of letters after the war, a flamboyant politician. He was elected to the French Academy in 1966, becoming its perpetual secretary in 1985.
We know the honors and appearances that marked his career. But the text of this dictation will probably be unknown to you. And yet, this excerpt from *”Des Baux à la mer”* is a gold mine for teachers who want to give their students a hard time.
The agreement of the verb *”succéder”*, the adjectives *”contiguë”*, or even the color adjectives. Words with a byzantine spelling, like *”bailliage”* for example. This excerpt will take you through the Baussenc country of the Occitan poets, the region of Les Baux-de-Provence.
Will you score 10/10 on this terrible dictation?