Le Figaro Nice
In the midst of a debate on the violence of minors following a dark series of news stories involving adolescents, sometimes very young, the Department of Alpes-Maritimes presented this Thursday afternoon the school uniform with which the middle school students of five establishments in the region from the start of the school year in September.
The outfits were unveiled within the walls of the Alphonse-Daudet college, in Nice, in the presence of the deputy for the 5th constituency of Alpes-Maritimes and president of the Republicans, Éric Ciotti.
“It is here, it is in Nice, that this experiment is being launched for the first time for our middle school students. An inaugural approach and an important moment which must bring about a break in the practices of National Education,”
he declared. And the Riviera parliamentarian recalled his wish to enshrine the experiment in law - initiated by the short-lived Minister of National Education, Gabriel Attal, last September.
In Maralpine lands there is no question of embroidered blazers and striped ties on white shirts, like the Anglo-Saxon model. White and blue, with the establishment's inscription on the chest or heart, the unique outfit is simple and casual. Not particularly daring but which has the merit, as the president of the departmental council, Charles Ange Ginésy, recalled, of being
“Franco-French”
. Its creation was entrusted to the Fil Rouge company, located in the heart of the Capelette district in Marseille.
“100% local manufacturing, labeled materials, clothing certified “guaranteed French origin””
, specified the president of the Department.
No additional charges for parents
Each school student will be given a total of nine pieces at the start of the school year: two short-sleeved polo shirts, one long-sleeved polo shirt, three t-shirts, a zipped jacket and two sweatshirts. Worth 240 euros including tax, this kit is entirely supported by the community, part of which is financed by the State. Or a total expenditure of 480,000 euros for the experiment on the scale of the Alpes-Maritimes.
“It is a collection which gives color to our middle school students and I am sure, a very great satisfaction to the majority of those who will wear these outfits”
, rejoiced President Ginésy, specifying that parents who wish have the possibility of ordering additional parts (for a fee) for their children via an online site.
“In three days of putting this site online, 140 families, out of the 2,000 college students concerned, have already placed orders
,” he assured.
As early as September 3, on the eve of the start of the school year, Éric Ciotti, who also chairs the Finance Commission of the Maralpine community, affirmed his wish to experiment with wearing a uniform in the department's colleges. The president of the departmental council immediately put himself on the track of the boss of LR. “
The school of the Republic is suffering today
,” Charles Ange Ginésy wrote at the time. And to continue: “
For the school to remain a sanctuary, impervious to ideologies of all kinds, we must now go further. For the sake of efficiency, wearing a uniform by students would nip any unnecessary quarrels in the bud.”
A speech repeated more than ever Thursday afternoon at Alphonse-Daudet college, in front of a troop of around ten college students already dressed in their polo shirts and other sweatshirts.
“The unique outfit will be neither a miracle cure nor a simple artifice, but a symbol through which our young people will be able to become more united around the model of the republican school and meritocracy. It will be an additional tool to forge their citizenship, in a spirit of cohesion, of solidarity, without erasing individualities
,” expressed Charles Ange Ginésy.
This unique school outfit is an essential building block in the foundations of this new school of the Republic
Éric Ciotti, president of LR and deputy for Alpes-Maritimes
While in Paris, the Prime Minister reinvests the sovereign domain by promising
"zero impunity"
for young delinquents
,
the boss of LR recalled Thursday afternoon from the Nice college how school must be the root of a unified nation respectful of the republican order:
“A school in difficulty is the France of tomorrow which is in danger. Everything lies in the school, the transmission of knowledge
,” he insisted. And to continue:
“This unique school outfit is an essential building block in the foundations of this new school of the Republic.”
Éric Ciotti also sees in this approach a form of respect for the rule and more broadly for authority, whether first of the master, of the teacher and later of the police officer for example:
“There is this need to reestablish at the heart of the Republic and the educational model this beautiful word “authority””
.
“The unique outfit will tomorrow be part of this strong signal to reaffirm our most essential republican principles and this major requirement of secularism, so attacked today and called into question
,” he insisted.
Some reluctance among college students
As for those first concerned by the experiment, most of those present on Thursday said they were in favor and considered the initiative positive, going so far as to regret that the unique outfit did not also concern pants.
“I have the impression that we did things half-heartedly
,” said a schoolgirl, smiling from ear to ear. A few, however, expressed their reluctance or even their categorical opposition.
“At first I was for the uniform, to show a good image of the college to the outside world. But in thinking about it, I wondered if some
(college students, editor's note)
would
not be prevented from expressing themselves because they were constrained by an imposed outfit
,” Marley confided to Le
Figaro
. And Marie-Lou continues:
“We express ourselves a lot at our age through clothes, it’s important. And then for the harassment, it won't change anything in the end. Shoes also matter a lot and we won’t all have the same ones!”
Continuing his speech delivered Thursday from Viry-Châtillon, this town in Essonne marked by the death of young Shemseddine, Gabriel Attal will go next Monday to a boarding school in Nice, in the company of the Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti . The Prime Minister should define the contours of his proposal around the placement of delinquent children in boarding schools.
“An opportunity
,” he said at the desk on Thursday,
“to quickly and effectively cut a young person out of bad company.”