It's nothing new that school, around which the République has historically been built, is the cornerstone of French society. But it also represents a daily challenge for millions of families, as well as being a powerful political vector. Because it builds the nation, because its vocation is to help every child build his or her future, because everyone has had to deal with it, and because it never ceases to fuel the debate of ideas, education is one of the most closely scrutinized aspects of the state. The fact that French President Emmanuel Macron would declare, in the middle of an interview with the French news magazine Le Point, that "education is part of [his] personal domain" – an expression which, in the 5th Republic, applies to foreign and defense policies – was therefore not insignificant.
On the face of it, this isn't bad news. After all, Macron is not the first French leader to put a "priority on education" or to want to put his personal stamp on a social issue not traditionally included among the president's top issues. Macron's focus on school could therefore be seen as a desire to promote and highlight an area that is fundamental to the country, and to give impetus to major initiatives designed to remedy the principal weaknesses of the French system: its propensity to perpetuate inequalities, its poor performance in fundamental learning and its inability to attract vocations to the teaching profession due to its often low salaries.
But Macron is instead stepping on the toes of his own Education Minister Gabriel Attal. He wants to change the history syllabus, shorten the summer vacations, disparage teaching methods and announce the postponement of the final exam specialty tests. The only thing he left to new incumbent Attal was the announcement of a ban on the abaya, the long Middle Eastern dress considered a religious symbol.
Admittedly, measures already taken – such as the doubling up of certain kindergarten and primary school classes in priority zones, the possibility of doing homework at school and the willingness to better replace absent teachers – serve the common objective of social justice. And the decisions on the final exams and religious symbols were called for by a large part of the educational community.
But, in the proposals for this fall, it is impossible to ignore the heavy nods to right-wing voters. Aren't they also a way of masking teachers' discontent with the non-fulfillment of candidate Macron's promise to increase their salaries by 10% (in reality 5.5% on average, dented by inflation)? And their reluctance to sign up to the "pact" that makes a salary boost conditional on accepting additional tasks?
The appointment of Attal, an ambitious politician who has the president's full support, should, in principle, make it possible to defend education issues loud and clear. But the president's bypassing his minister, and the contradiction between the stated desire to encourage grassroots initiatives and the incessant injunctions coming from the top of the state, risk paralyzing an already tired system.
Education is such a serious issue that it needs to be supported by heavyweight politicians. But it's also an institution that's too essential, and already too tossed about, to be run by two different leaders and used as a political tool to provide a shock absorber for the current political bumps.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.