Actually, it's more complex than this in France. There is 5 systems:

- depending of the Ministry of Eduction :

   - for toddlers : maternelle (3-6 yo)

   - Primary : CP (6 yo, primary), CE1 (elementary 1), CE2, CM1 (middle 1), CM2

   - Secondary :

       - College (not the US one!) : 6th (~11 yo), 5th, 4th, 3th (with exam at the end)

       - Lycée : 2nd (~15 yo), 1st, Terminal (with 'Baccalauréat' exam at the end)

then depending of Ministry of Research : University or Post BAC schools

However, I think that in some other french-talking countries (Belgium, Swissland) they did it simpler

Maternelle years also have names: PSM, MSM, GSM.

GSM, PS, CE1, CE2, CM1, CM2 used to be called 12th to 7th, as I said.

Your primary classification is incorrect -- maternelle is part of primary. Non-maternelle primary is called elementary.

That's for classic education (General, when you want to make longer studies), there are also professional or technical Lycée)

The P in CP doesn't stand for "primary" but for "preparatory"

Nothing compared to the order I went through in Germany: 1, 2, 3, 4 (elementary school until here), then VI (read in Latin, sexta), V (quinta), IV (quarta), lower III (tertia), upper III, lower II (secunda), 11, 1st semester, 2nd semester, 3rd semester, 4th semester.

Does anyone still use these Latin terms? When I went to school in the 90s and early 00s we just counted from 1st to 12 and university just was it's own thing and how many semesters you were in didn't matter that much because there was no class structure.

French and Brits do a lot of things the other way around, like imperial system, ATON/NATO, driving on the other side of the road.

Just mentioned the age bracket. Kids who are younger or older are outliers.

The French for NATO is completely reversed: OTAN