The long-awaited decision fell this Wednesday, August 25 in the middle of the day, at the end of the Health Defense Council.
The start of the school year will not finally take place on Thursday, September 2 in Martinique and Guadeloupe, overwhelmed by the Covid-19 epidemic, announced government spokesman Gabriel Attal.
Students are expected to resume classes on September 13.
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In the morning, a representative of the SE-Unsa union who had attended a meeting with the Ministry of National Education confided to the press that
"very strong measures"
were going to be taken during this Health Defense Council.
“Everything suggests a staggered re-entry
,
”
she stressed at the time.
Polynesia has already closed its schools
For several days, many ultra-marine voices have been rising to demand the postponement of this re-entry.
In Guadeloupe, the prefect and the rector had published on August 23 a joint statement in which they
"[agreed] to relay to the government the postponement of the start of the school year given the current health context",
thus joining several elected officials who had made the same request two days earlier.
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In Reunion, where the start of the school year took place on August 16, several establishments are already affected by class closures. For its part, French Polynesia closed its schools, colleges and high schools on August 23.
"The spread of the Delta virus within our schools over the last two days requires a strong reaction from us
", explained Édouard Fritch, the president of the archipelago, on August 21.