Paris (AFP)

The differences between the Scientific Council and the government on the date of reopening of the schools worry teachers unions and parents of pupils and reinforce the feeling of "insecurity" less than two weeks before the start of the school year on 11 May.

In a note published on Saturday evening, this Council responsible for enlightening the government took note of the "political decision" of cautious and gradual reopening of schools and nurseries while saying they were in favor of their closure until September.

In the aftermath, the Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer indicated on Twitter that the note of the Council, which advocates in particular the wearing of the mask in colleges and high schools, would serve as "basis" for "the development of the protocol health announced to provide a safe environment for academic deconfinement ".

Prior to the Tuesday presentation of the deconfinement plan, the Scientific Council established a list of distancing rules which will have to be adopted in educational establishments, in particular ensuring that the class tables are spaced apart by one meter or that the pupils are only in contact with their classmates.

"Mission impossible", replies Philippe Vincent, secretary general of SNPDEN, the first union of school leaders. "The sum of all the recommendations of the Council, if they were adopted, is impracticable in the current state of our capacities, with personnel who will certainly not be present at 100%", he fears.

"These are very complex recommendations to put in place. Under these conditions, a recovery cannot take place on May 11. If it takes place in degraded mode, it will be very fragile because with any new suspicion, it will stop" , warns Stéphane Crochet, general secretary of SE-Unsa.

"We are now waiting to see the declination which will be adopted but the different opinions of the minister, the government, the Scientific Council show a lack of concerted action and this creates a feeling of insecurity in everyone", regrets Francette Popineau, secretary general of SNUipp-FSU, first primary union.

Recovery spread over three weeks depending on the level, possibility for parents to refuse to bring their child to school ... For a week, the Elysée, Matignon and rue de Grenelle have indeed evoked more or less precise scenarios , each new advertisement bringing its share of questions.

- "Local adaptation" -

Francette Popineau assures him: "Whatever the decision made on Tuesday, we ask the government for a secure national framework, validated by a medical authority otherwise we will not restart the school, we will not take risks for the staff", warns -she.

"And if we leave, it is imperative to take the long time of reflection between teachers, communities and parents of students, to revive everything: it takes at least a week to set up the disinfection of classes, entrances and out of schools with barriers, markings on the ground to ensure distance etc ... ", she adds.

Agnès Le Brun, spokesperson in charge of education issues at the Association of Mayors of France, goes in the same direction. "We need a local adaptation carried out in concert with all the actors, remaining humble and modest in the response," she said, recalling however that "many questions remain unanswered about who does what in the disinfection of the school , with what means, etc. "

For Benoît Teste, secretary general of the FSU, the first trade union federation for education, "if we reopen the schools, we must respect very, very strict sanitary conditions, but that seems very complicated to implement, and that inevitably creates concern among parents. "

"The parents of students have the feeling that the government does not know where it is going in the back-to-school dossier, and therefore many will not send their children, that is certain," replied Rodrigo Arenas, co- President of the FCPE, the first federation of parents.

Another high school union, Snalc, asked that the advice of the Scientific Council be followed, and that the government "announce as soon as possible that schools, colleges and high schools will remain closed until September".

In the meantime, the meetings scheduled for videoconference on Monday with the various union organizations are postponed to Wednesday, according to the unions, that is to say the day after the deconfinement plan by Edouard Philippe.

© 2020 AFP