France: when confined schooling widens inequalities

Text by: RFI Follow

Zone C, that of Paris, was the first to virtually return to school after the Easter holidays on Monday, April 20. But home schooling, which has lasted for over a month in France, makes social inequalities even more glaring. Report.

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During his televised address on April 13, Emmanuel Macron mentioned the date of May 11 for the gradual lifting of containment. Nurseries, primary schools, colleges and high schools are expected to reopen from this date. The details remain unclear. Many consider this return to class hasty in view of the current state of the Covid-19 epidemic, but in his speech, the President of the Republic stressed that confinement aggravated the inequalities between students.

Aude is a teacher in a school in the north of Paris classified as a priority education zone. His CP class, a pivotal stage in learning to write and read, is very mixed. It mixes children of senior managers, workers or unemployed parents. In this period of confinement, the differences in environments are felt.

Aude had to adapt the program for students who couldn't keep up with the pace. The differences in levels that already existed in his class increased with containment.

Listen to the report: the confined school and inequalities

Marie Casadebaig

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• France
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• Containment
• Coronavirus