Civil college is a public educational institute for theoretical and practical learning. This study examines the social context behind France's civil college and how it is being operated. Many studies have been conducted in Korea to examine Germany in terms of lifelong learning or adult learning, but there is almost no study on France. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the history and operation of civil college, the "college outside college," in France and what Korea should learn from it. The civil college of France can be discussed in two contexts: first, it is AUPF, which stands for the French association of civil colleges, and it was mostly influenced by Northern Europe and Germany. Second, it is Caen Civil College, which was established by M. Onfray based his philosophical collaboration. The European civil college opened almost 1,000 courses in 2010-2011 for a variety of subjects, including Foreign Languages, Mother Tongue, the Dialects of Alsace, Philosophy, Cosmology, History, Art History, Psychology, Sociology, Astronomy, Botany, and Natural Science. Courses in Fine Arts include drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, music, and theater. For another form of civil college, Philosopher M. Onfray has been operating Caen Civil College since 2002 for general education and cultural education. It is not acknowledged by conventional philosophers, but it is contributing to the popularization of philosophy. In conclusion, the civil college in France has brought in-depth philosophical discussions out of the lecture rooms in an effort to popularize learning, making lifelong learning more accessible to the general public.