Gabriel Attal flew to the aid of Jean-Michel Blanquer, contested for his management of the Covid crisis at school, this Wednesday.
"We are all very supportive of Jean-Michel Blanquer," said the government spokesperson after the Council of Ministers, taking the opportunity to defend the government's strategy in schools.
“Despite the dizzying numbers of the epidemic, we are not deviating from our course.
This course, it is clear: we want to live as normally as possible ”, posed Gabriel Attal, who swept aside the accusations of lack of coherence emanating from the opposition.
He defended a government protocol "both pragmatic and protective" allowing "less waiting, more flexibility and still health security".
The government spokesperson nevertheless admitted that "everything was not perfect" and that "some information arrived late".
"We measure what can be the fatigue and worry of school staff," he said.
"But, always, a balance is found", he defended.
2% of classes closed
The minister also rejected any closure of classes, insisting on the danger this would represent for children.
“Each day without school is an increased risk of dropping out, it means less learning of the fundamentals and these are growing inequalities.
There are also thousands of children deprived of a canteen, sports activities and social interactions, essential elements for their development ”, he enumerated.
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Gabriel Attal then praised the record of France at this level.
"Since the start of this crisis, schools in France have been closed half as much as in Germany, three times less than in Italy, four times less than in the United States," he added, adding that nearly 2% of classes were currently closed across the country.
He finally took advantage of his speech to address a small pike to the opposition, declaring that "education will never be an adjustment variable for the government" and that the closing of classes should always "remain a last resort. ".
“We prefer the complexity of the job to the ease of closing,” he concluded.