Louise Sallé 11:33 a.m., March 28, 2024

Faced with rising tensions between public schools and private schools, the general secretary of Catholic education held a conference on Wednesday evening. The Objective for those who represent nearly 95% of private establishments in France: to organize the response. 

Tension rises between public and private. Private contract education, particularly Catholic, has come under fire since the Stanislas affair and the comments of Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. And while a parliamentary report denouncing the "opacity" of private school financing will be made public next Tuesday, the general secretariat of Catholic education held a conference Wednesday evening to organize its response to these growing protests. . 

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“Rather poor” establishments

In front of journalists, Philippe Delorme, general secretary of Catholic education, assures us: Catholic education is certainly 75% financed by the State, but is not drowning in money. “We are not hiding billionaire donors who would finance us in a secret way. Far from it,” he assures at the microphone of Europe 1. 

“Catholic educational establishments are rather poor since around 30% of them have a financing capacity of less than 5%,” he adds. And as in the public sector, controls and inspections are rare to verify the accounts of establishments. But the private sector is not responsible. “The public authorities do not have enough human resources today to be able to control all of our establishments. But that is all we ask to be controlled,” assures the general secretary of Catholic education. 

No stigma

“I always remain very opposed to the idea that we must take away from some in order to give more to others. It seems very dangerous to me to pit young people against each other, as if there were those who must be surrounded and supervised , and the others who are stigmatized because they have the chance to evolve in a more advantaged environment,” he regrets, however. 

For him, the political figures who maintain these tensions have a very serious responsibility. It remains to be seen whether this first speech will convince the ranks of the teaching unions in the public, increasingly angry against private establishments.