The administrative court of Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) estimated that the closing until nursery schools in Bobigny until September "violated" the right to education and ordered the town hall to define by the beginning of June "modalities" for welcoming students. The centrist municipality had decided that nursery schools and crèches would remain closed until September, citing in particular the young age of the children concerned, which did not allow them to respect barrier gestures such as physical distancing.
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"The mayor's order is a serious and manifestly illegal violation of the right to education and instruction," said the judge, in an order issued on Wednesday. The city has established "no particular health circumstance" which imposes this non-reopening, as a specific configuration of the premises which would prevent compliance with the health protocol, according to the court decision. She must therefore "define by June 3 the reception arrangements in the large sections of her nursery schools, by taking measures strictly proportionate to the health risks incurred and appropriate", urged the judge.
"We are not forced to open but to define the reception conditions"
The measures to fight the epidemic taken by the mayor must not "compromise the coherence and the effectiveness of the measures taken by the State" at the time of deconfinement, she also recalled. "We are not forced to open but to define the reception conditions. The administrative court does not impose any opening date," reacted the municipality.
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This decision follows an emergency appeal filed on May 14 by Aline Charron, mother of a student and also a municipal opposition councilor, to protest against the non-reopening, saying that it "aggravated educational inequalities". "I hope that all priority (pupils) will come forward. The fact that the schools are reopening, there will be a positive signal, if only for the parents who are hesitant," she said.
Justice has also pointed out "the importance of school in a municipality located in a priority education network area (...) and experiencing a high rate of school difficulties and failures".