France: new health rules for the start of the school year

Cleaning of the playground in a school in Cannet, in the Alpes-Maritimes, on August 28.

REUTERS / Eric Gaillard

Text by: Marie Casadebaig Follow

6 min

For many French people, this Monday marks the end of the holidays, with the return to work for adults and preparation for the start of the school year for the students, which will take place this Tuesday.

For everyone, new health rules must be observed to avoid an upsurge in Covid-19 cases in a country where the curve has continued to recover since deconfinement. 

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The Ministry of Labor updated the national health protocol that had been established for companies after confinement.

These new measures will officially come into force on Tuesday September 1st.

Like the previous ones, they will not be the subject of a decree.

No company is obligated to apply them, but the government relies on the obligation placed on companies to protect their employees.

Wearing a mask becomes compulsory in closed and shared work spaces;

offices, open spaces, changing rooms, meeting rooms and of course common areas.

The installation of Plexiglas partitions cannot replace it.

For workers who work outdoors, it will only be imposed if it is impossible to respect the physical distance of one meter between two people.

Some employees will still be exempt from the use of the mask: those who practice physical trades such as on construction sites and in garages.

Employers will then have to be very vigilant in ventilating the premises.

The government plans to list these jobs with the unions.

Telecommuting recommended

According to the French health authorities, one in five sources of contamination is recorded in a company.

To limit the risks, teleworking is " 

 " and no longer " 

 " as before the summer holidays.

Remote work is especially recommended in areas of active circulation of the virus, the red areas.

A way to avoid too many contacts within companies, but also a large number of people on public transport.

On this point, the government intends to encourage companies to space out the arrival times of their employees to smooth out the famous rush hours in buses, subways and trams.

The unions now want the use of teleworking, which is tending to settle and become widespread in France, to be better supervised.

They have a meeting on Wednesday afternoon with the employers' organizations.

Finally, this company health protocol is quite strict on the disinfection of premises, as well as aeration and control of ventilation systems.

Back to school "as normal as possible"

This Tuesday, it will be the children's turn to go back to work.

Unlike the period following confinement, the number of students per class will no longer be limited.

Almost 12 and a half million young people will therefore find their teachers.

Physical distancing will therefore be quite simply impossible.

Wearing a mask will be imposed from middle school for students, in class as well as during recess.

The management teams will therefore try to spread out the breaks, to avoid too much mixing outside.

For teachers, on the other hand, the mask is compulsory for everyone, whatever the level.

At their request, some teachers could be equipped with transparent masks, especially in reading classes such as CP.

But also in classes with hearing-impaired children whose mother tongue is not French.

The state having refused to cover the cost of the masks, some communities have decided to obtain them to distribute them free of charge to their students.

The puzzle may take place at lunchtime.

Establishments are invited to display the passage of children in the canteen.

But it cannot be done over several hours.

Teachers' concerns

This Monday, the teachers are already at work.

It's a pre-school day for them.

A day to share some concerns, especially about dropout students.

Those who did not manage to follow the distance courses, the time of confinement and during the few months that followed, until school holidays.

The Minister of Education promises to strengthen assessments in CP and CE1, important classes for learning to read and write, to take stock of the effects of confinement.

Jean-Michel Blanquer wanted to be reassuring about the workforce.

He was in the Mayenne department at the start of the day, particularly affected by the virus this summer.

He assured that the competitions had been able to take place, the recruitments also and that the ministry had the means to replace the professors who would have been defined as vulnerable by their doctor.

For the Minister, with some exceptions, this return to school will be as normal as possible.

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