A Minister of Education disavowed or protected by the executive?
Thursday evening, the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, took charge of the "school" file, chairing the meeting with the teachers' unions at the end of a major day of teachers' strikes.
The trade unions like to see it as a questioning of the
“Blanquer method”,
even a
“humiliation”,
in good and due form, of the Minister of National Education.
See also
Teachers' strike: Blanquer apologizes and admits he made "mistakes"
But the day after this busy day during which voices on the left demanded the resignation of Jean-Michel Blanquer, the first lady gave her full support to the person concerned.
“The protocols are not induced by the Ministry of National Education (…) It is not the work of a minister but the work of enlightened scientists”,
estimated Brigitte Macron on RTL.
Contrary to certain rumours, Minister Blanquer is not "released" in high places.
No wonder, at the time of the Omicron wave and three months before the presidential election.
Read also
Jean-Michel Blanquer, a minister under fire from critics
Invited on Franceinfo to detail the measures announced, in response to the teacher mobilization, the Minister of Education made his mea culpa.
“I am not perfect, I make mistakes (…) and I have no problem saying that I am sorry for certain things
, he conceded.
I knew that there would be a fairly large mobilization, I take note (and I) understand it for the most part. We are all tired of this virus, it is normal that at some point, a weariness is expressed.
To respond to the anger of the teaching world, some 8,000 people will be called in to reinforce schools, at least until the end of the year.
In detail, he promises to recruit 3,300 contract teachers, 1,500 secondary school supervisors, as well as 1,500 administrative contractors to support primary school inspectors and 1,700 anti-Covid mediators in schools.
The Minister also indicated that
“several hundred teachers”
would be hired on a permanent basis, via the use of “complementary lists” (these candidates not received in the teacher competition but well ranked).
Quick response
These recruitments will begin
“as of next week”.
At a time when 7% of teachers are absent, according to the latest figures from the ministry, that the academies are struggling to provide replacements – retirees from the National Education have even been asked!
- and that the profession is experiencing a crisis of vocations, the unions remain cautious about the effectiveness of these recruitments.
To relieve teachers in the field, the Minister of Education also announced that the mid-CP evaluations, scheduled for next week, are postponed.
As for the baccalaureate specialty tests, scheduled for mid-March, they could possibly be postponed.
Read also
Guillaume Tabard: "Jean-Michel Blanquer at the challenge of appeasement at school"
At the end of the 3:30 meeting, led Thursday evening by the Prime Minister, accompanied by the Ministers of Education and Health, the organizations welcomed an
“important listening”.
The inter-union met on January 14, at the end of the afternoon, to take stock and decide on any follow-up to be given to Thursday's movement. Even if nothing says that such events will happen again, union unity having its limits…
“Commitments have been made, but we will judge on the spot,”
cautiously sums up Sophie Venetitay at Snes, the main union of the first degree. Unsa, a reformist union,
"positively acts the change of method in the social dialogue". "Our overall impression is that we repeated our usual demands, but that for the first time we were heard a little and the first answers were given" ,
estimated Frédéric Marchand, its secretary general.
Another tone, at Snalc, which believes that
“No, “the unions” are not satisfied
.
"The staff did not go on strike just for a few FFP2 masks",
sums up its president, Jean-Rémi Girard.
The government has promised surgical masks by the end of the month and 5 million FFP2 masks for kindergarten teachers.
But for the Snalc,
“no response has been given to the major request for financial upgrading for all staff”.
Read also
Covid-19: Jean-Michel Blanquer plunges the school into the fog
Another announcement: the unions will now be invited to bi-monthly meetings where the Minister of Education and the Minister of Health will be present or represented. In a spirit of "consultation". For several months now, the trade unions have been denouncing the methods of communication of Minister Blanquer, who, according to them, speaks to the media before even addressing the teachers. The exasperation had reached its peak on the eve of the start of the Christmas holidays, when the change in protocol was announced via a paid interview with Le
Parisien
. At Matignon, we admit that there are
"areas for improvement to be sought"
in this field. The executive wants to believe that its rapid response to the strike will put out the discontent.
At the end of Thursday's meeting, the unions generally welcomed a
"recovery of the file by Matignon"
.
And describe a Jean-Michel Blanquer
"less parading", "less unpleasant".
Still, no commitment has been made on this “Blanquer method of communication”.
As for the health protocol, which has become the symbol of the exasperation of the profession, it remains unchanged.
