He had opposed it for a long time.
Faced with the worsening health situation, Jean-Michel Blanquer had to admit that the closure of schools, announced Wednesday March 31 by Emmanuel Macron, was
"the solution of reason"
.
"We knew well that it was necessary to take measures of last resort to face this new wave, and the school was part of it"
, admitted the Minister of National Education, Thursday morning on RTL.
The health protocol had however been modified in recent days, with the closure of a class from the first case of Covid-19.
In the end, that was not enough.
Read also: Covid-19: limited travel everywhere in France, closure of schools, vaccination ... What to remember from Macron's announcements
Return to the first containment strategy
By closing the doors of schools from Tuesday and for three weeks, France is returning to the strategy operated during the first confinement.
This measure, drastic and restrictive for parents of students, had been avoided during the second wave, last fall.
Jean-Michel Blanquer, however, wanted to temper, assuring that this closure would only represent
"a small parenthesis, I say very small, in April, to then resume again"
.
The Minister recalled in particular that this period covered, in part, the period of the spring break and that, for the rest, the courses would continue at a distance, as in last spring.
“The goal for me was a fully successful school year. To have been in class from September to the end of March, it is essential and fundamental ”
, also judged Jean-michel Blanquer.
"With all that we have done, the French student will be, in the world, one of those who will have had the least abnormal school year possible, the most continuous, which is an exception in the world to which we must hold more than anything ”
, wanted to underline the Minister of National Education.
Pécresse regrets a lack of consultation with parents
Invited at the same time on France Inter, Valérie Pécresse judged that this closure of schools was indeed
"a necessary response"
to fight against the spread of the epidemic.
The president of the Île-de-France region believes, however, that this measure
"would have deserved a notice for the parents who found themselves at the foot of the wall with only two days to reorganize their plans".
On Wednesday, Anne Hidalgo, the socialist mayor of Paris, also called for the closure of schools in the capital in the face of a
"very serious"
health situation
and
"very great disorganization".