Something is wrong, yes. When I was at school, at the Lycée Français, a long long time ago (like the last century), they hammered us with propaganda about how the "French education philosophy" or whatever they call it is better than the Lebanese system because it is NOT based on memorizing but puts the emphasis on understanding and analysis. It was like they had built a rocket and went to Mars.
I don't think this has changed much, if any they should be putting even more emphasis on comprehension and less on memorizing.
I am surprized that you are expected to "memorize things like a parrot".
I would not recommend skipping studying for l'examen oral altogether. I think it might appear like you're trying to bullsh*t the examinator (or whatever that person is called) and it might bring you a bad grade. At least learn some things so that you can elaborate and base your discussion on something, and not look like you studied nothing at all or like you're trying to outsmart them.
If I remember well (because it was the last century), the exam is pretty easy - but it depends a lot on the interrogator, so no need to stress too much.
And if your attitude is I'm not going to study because I will forget it, then you will have trouble at uni as well.
Larsa wrote i mean it's french literature for god's sake...
They didn't teach you about respect for litterature either? It's supposed to be a French thing as well.
I can understand that you feel like this if you're force-fed that stuff, for which you don't seem to care at the moment, by a teacher who might not care about it either.
But it's a big world and many people feel the opposite.
I felt like this about philosophy, but then later on when I met people who really like philosophy and discussed it with me in a friendly manner (not like a teacher), sharing their genuine interest, then my perspective changed. I still don't like it, I mean I won't go buy and read books about philosophy, but I know there are nice things in philosophy, things worth knowing or speaking about and I can understand that someone would like it.
You're not going to take the bac again in your life. I hope you won't anyway. So if you get a good grade in this particular part you'll probably be happier in the future about it than kinda skipping it, I doubt that's something you'll be happy and proud about.
But hey to each his own. You are not me (and vice-versa).
Good luck whatever you decide!
You're doing well to look beyond that. Soon it will be over.