Le Figaro Lyon
“There have been big problems at this school for a while
. ”
The parents of students at the Alphonse-Daudet school, located at the northern end of Lyon, in the Saint-Rambert district (9th arrondissement), can't take it anymore.
Since October, their children - from kindergarten to elementary school - have been studying in rooms where the temperature fluctuates between 13°C and 16°C.
“Sometimes it's colder in the classroom than outside.
It's the same in the canteen.
Parents didn't understand why their children no longer wanted to eat lunch at school.
It was simply because the temperatures were too low,”
confides to
Figaro
Lilia, president of the school’s parents’ association, after launching the alert this Wednesday morning in the columns of Le
Progrès
.
Bronchitis, flu and nasopharyngitis
A situation of
“fed up”
and
“abandonment”
which led this mother of a large child to contact the press.
“Despite our reminders and complaints from staff, nothing has been done.
We're talking about children here!
How can they educate themselves in these conditions!”
, Lilia gets carried away.
In addition to learning concerns, the ambient cold affected the children's health.
“Bronchitis, flu, nasopharyngitis, from the youngest to the oldest, they are very often sick
,” continues the mother.
Among toddlers, some, although clean, have
“peed on themselves”
several times , continues Mohamed, father of a daughter in CM2 at Alphonse-Daudet.
And Lilia adds:
“They were so cold during the nap that they fell on each other mechanically.
Ultimately, the school blamed the parents, saying the children were not potty trained.
But when a child is clean at home, a leak can happen from time to time at school, but not every day.
The problem comes from elsewhere
.
For its part, the city of Lyon indicates that it reacted
“as soon as the services were alerted”
and contacted Grand Lyon Habitat, which provides heating in this district to restore the situation.
After several alerts in January,
“we investigated to understand the reasons and made readjustments”
, assured this Wednesday Stéphanie Léger (EELV), deputy in charge of education at the city of Lyon.
Additional convectors have since been installed which
“made it possible to reach 19°C, as in all schools, in the nursery.
But we are not yet there in the primary
(elementary, Editor's note) ,
”
continues the assistant who also assures
“that she completely understands the anger of the parents”,
conceding that it will be necessary to be
“more responsive”
to the future.
“The shutters have not changed since 1971”
Heating is not the only problem at the Alphonse-Daudet school.
Mohamed describes an establishment
that is “too dilapidated”
.
“The school dates from June 1971 and nothing has changed since then.
She is in her juices.
The latest work dates from 2015 or 2016. There were problems with pipes that had become too small.
At the time, the agents put garbage bags on their hands to evacuate the toilets so that the next child could poop,”
continues the father, also president of the parents’ association for seven years.
He, like Lilia, were students at Alphonse-Daudet.
“Even the shutters have not changed since then
,” describes the current president.
The school also contains asbestos.
According to Stéphanie Léger, since 2021, major work in the school has been included in the multi-year investment program for a total amount of 6.9 million euros.
Interventions on the energy renovation of the building, on asbestos, and security should begin at the end of 2024.
For their part, parents are determined not to give up the fight.
“
If necessary, we will take our children out of school to demonstrate in front of the town hall
,” concludes Lilia.