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Mayors, prefects… Who decides on the reopening of schools?

2020-05-04T14:20:28.134Z


Since the announcement of the deconfinement calendar, the reopening of the schools has been like a race against the clock refused by many schools.


Some simply refuse to open establishments. The others await stronger guarantees from the executive before embarking on the deconfinement of schools. Since the announcements of Edouard Philippe, last Tuesday in front of the deputies, many city officials worry about the conditions in which the reception of the schoolchildren will take place.

The government had planned a multi-stage plan. Back to school for primary schools, which are in charge of town halls, from May 11 for teachers. Each class cannot support more than 15 students simultaneously, on a voluntary basis. At the secondary level, of departmental competence, the return of pupils from 6th and 5th is planned one week later. The fate of high schools, of regional competence, will not be fixed until the end of May.

"Impossible" to respect the protocol

At this point, some people simply do not imagine that the schedule is tenable. In Ile-de-France, more than 300 mayors have co-signed a platform to “solemnly” request the postponement of the return to school for schoolchildren. Azzédine Taïbi, communist mayor of Stains, is one of the signatories. “I had made it known before the Prime Minister's announcements that I was opposed to the premature reopening of classrooms. This is still the case today. "

The mayor of this commune of Seine-Saint-Denis believes that the conditions are simply not met to guarantee all the security conditions. "I was waiting to see the health protocol, it's just impossible to enforce it," he argues. Teachers will waste more time enforcing hygiene rules and social distancing than doing class. "

The mayor therefore asked his floor teams about a decree to close the schools. "This will allow parents to be able to justify their inability to go to work to babysit their children," says the councilor. He is far from alone. The list of recalcitrant mayors is even growing day by day. In Seine-Saint-Denis, the mayors of Bobigny, Saint-Ouen, Le Raincy, Le Bourget, Coubron, Drancy, Montreuil, Noisy-le-Sec and even Livry-Gargan took an identical decision. Same thing, in France, in Hautmont (North), Hayange (Moselle), or in the cities RN of Fréjus (Var) and Beaucaire (Gard).

The mayor-prefect couple at the center of the game

These are only examples. "Surprisingly, since the government released its latest version of the health protocol this weekend, I have the feeling that the number of mayors who refuse to open the doors of schools is increasing, points Christophe Bouillon, president of the Association of the small towns of France. The PS deputy of Seine-Maritime considers that the refusals of the mayors to open the classes are not only related to political considerations. “The mayors who refused before seeing the protocols probably did so for reasons of principle. There, we are dealing with elected officials who, after studying the protocols, say I can't . "

In addition to purely health concerns, elected officials fear being held responsible for the possible spread of the epidemic within educational establishments. "Mayors are used to being empowered, but what will happen if the pandemic spreads to schools that have just reopened?" Parents and teachers would be perfectly entitled to turn against us, ”fears the mayor of Stains. “It is not a question of amnesty in advance all the elected officials, but this point represents a real brake for the reopening of the schools, abounds Christophe Bouillon. "

Decrees broken by the prefectures?

On this point, senators should floor this Monday as part of the extension of the state of health emergency on strengthening the legal protection of elected officials. The government has said it is open to legislative changes on the subject. "Closing schools is a disaster" for the most vulnerable young people, said Edouard Philippe in his introductory speech Monday in the upper house.

Enough to quell fears and guarantee the opening of schools? Not sure. Throughout the week, the prefectures should increase contacts with city officials or their representatives to discuss it. “The President of the Republic told us that he intended to rely on the mayor-prefect couple. But we will have to see if we reach a balance or if we fall back into a pattern in which the prefect would decide and the mayor would execute, ”wonders Christophe Bouillon.

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The prefectures have the power to challenge any decrees which act as the closure of educational establishments. Will such measures be taken? "Some mayors say that even if the order is canceled, at least they will have been forced to open classes and will not have been faced with this difficult choice," notes Christophe Bouillon.

The president of the association of small towns of France, the Prime Minister and the Minister of National Education have reported that greater flexibility would be given to the mayors of the departments classified in red. "The prefecture was attentive, confirmed on Monday David Rachline, mayor RN of Fréjus, after his meeting with the prefecture. The prefect plays his role which is that of enforcing the law at the local level, he recommended that we open the schools. But once we own the walls, the decision is our responsibility. "

Christophe Bouillon does not hide certain fears with regard to a two-tier policy of prefectures according to the territories. "I understand the logic, but you have to be careful, the parents' tension is the same in the green departments as in the reds. It shouldn't turn red with anger and green with rage. "

Source: leparis

All news articles on 2020-05-04

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