COVID-19 School Reopening Protocols in France Address Community Tensions

12 May 2020 – byGinette · 1 min read

The French Ministry of National Education published on May 4 the protocols for the gradual reopening of schools and educational institutions for students. It is in this context that on the Eduscol website, the ministry has made available to students several thematic sheets that "specify the role of different bodies, highlight the points of vigilance to be paid to certain situations and the importance to be given to the words of the students".

Among the instructions on the site, there is a note entitled "listening to and promoting the speech of students", another on "student health", but also sheets on "risks of sectarian drifts" and the "risk of community withdrawal". It is this last note that is now catching the attention of the media, who are questioning the integration of this theme in the ministry’s recommendations.

"The covid-19 crisis can be used by some to demonstrate the inability of states to protect the population and try to destabilize vulnerable individuals. Various radical groups are exploiting this dramatic situation in order to rally new members to their cause and disrupt public order. Their political project can be anti-democratic and anti-republican. These counter-projects for society can be communitarian, authoritarian and unequal," we can read in the introduction.

It is therefore recommended both to "fight against community withdrawals that undermine the values of the republican pact and against any manifestation of separatism", but also to fight against "fake news about covid-19" and "support staff in establishments in the face of withdrawal reactions from students".

Category: France

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France Education