The driving schools recorded a complete stop of their activity during the period of confinement, in the spring.

Since then, they have tried to respond to the large number of candidates who came to take their exam.

For Bruno Garancher, president of the ECF network, "this poses some organizational concerns", but nothing insurmountable.

INTERVIEW

Four months after the end of the general confinement imposed to fight against the coronavirus, driving schools are facing a considerable influx of candidates.

Locked in their homes, deprived of driving lessons, they were unable to continue their training for two months.

Their return to specialized establishments has therefore caused a form of bottling since the end of spring.

If the increase in activity is real, it remains manageable, according to Bruno Garancher, president of the ECF network and guest Thursday from

La France move

on Europe 1.

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"The two months of complete shutdown of activity generated waiting," summarizes the leader of the network.

"We have never had so many people at the same time. When we look at our stats, we have almost the same number of registrants as last year, with a 1% difference. That means that what is happening is not spent for two months is caught up or compensated at the moment. This poses some organizational problems, but we get there ", welcomes the leader of the ECF network, which brings together 1,180 schools, 3,000 teachers with 3,500 cars.

Pooling of exams

According to the leader, the trend is therefore "good but not simple": "People had planned in their 'planning of life' access to the car. We whip hard and everyone in the circuit whip hard, since there is also the problem of the driving license exams that must be recovered. "

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Bruno Garancher nonetheless remains optimistic about the capacity of the driving school sector to face this strong demand: "We find solutions in relation to exams, in particular by pooling them. The situation is quite disparate in the territory. There are some departments where there really is no problem. For others, it is a little more complicated, even if the State has done everything to get the mechanics in place. driving played the game by working overtime and taking less vacation. And the whole reserve was mobilized. "

This does not prevent candidates from Ile-de-France, for example, from having to wait three months to be able to take their license.

YouTube and distance learning

To ensure a form of "pedagogical continuity", driving schools have resorted to digital tools.

"We launched a YouTube channel at several" schools, says Bruno Garancher.

“My driving school at home” now has more than 9,000 subscribers, while 850,000 young people pass their license each year.

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"In ten days", the ECF network will also offer "distance learning" to "relocate its rooms".

"We've been thinking about it for a long time, we found it a little surprising to ask people to be mobile and to come and see us when they didn't necessarily have the tools of mobility."

The service will consist of a "virtual room, which the National Education has tried to apply somehow during confinement".