Funnily enough, I briefly studied at the university where Descartes gave lectures. But even though I've got a cursory understanding of Descartes philosophy, I've got a feeling that the word 'cartésien' doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as "à la Descartes" - I think the word 'cartésien' is used in a more banal sense. Personally, I found the education system in France way more rigid than in NZ (insofar as there's usually a 'right' answer), but it might just have been my experience