Back to work, to telework or to school, the French enter, Monday, November 2, in the heart of their new daily of lightened reconfinement, with the very special return of more than 12 million students under unprecedented health vigilance and safe.

This new phase of containment is intended to curb the "second wave" of coronavirus contaminations in France, where some 46,290 new cases were recorded on Sunday, against 35,641 the day before.

More than 3,500 Covid-19 patients are now hospitalized in intensive care or intensive care, according to Public Health France, which recorded 231 deaths and 289 new admissions on Sunday in 24 hours.

"We are doing everything so that there is a continuity of the public service of education, it is in these moments that we show that we are a strong Republic", assured the Minister of Education, Jean- Michel Blanquer, in his back-to-school video message.

On November 2, we return with a new health protocol that strengthens protective measures and we pay tribute to Samuel Paty.


School, at the heart of the life of our country 🇫🇷



Message to teachers and national education staff: https://t.co/d3TH5QBlQD

- Jean-Michel Blanquer (@jmblanquer) October 31, 2020

This is the great novelty of this re-containment: schools, colleges and high schools are open, unlike in the spring, but will be subject to a reinforced health protocol.

In addition to travel restrictions in the canteen or in the playground, the wearing of a mask will be from Monday now mandatory for students from six years old.

>> To read: Wearing a mask compulsory from 6 years old: "How do you want to learn to read with a mask?"

"We still haven't received anything from school, neither on the masks nor on the opening or not of the canteen, I will put surgical masks in the schoolbag and we will see", says Marion Lafuste, 35, mother of Raphaël, educated in CP in Paris, in "100% teleworking".

"The situation distresses and worries all our compatriots, therefore parents and students", explains Rodrigo Arenas, co-president of the FCPE, the first association of parents of students.

"So that barrier gestures can be applied, we must hire teachers on a massive scale, as Italy has done, this is the only way we have to effectively fight against the spread of the virus," he said. added.

On Sunday, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, instead raised the possibility of closing high schools if the measures taken in recent days to curb the epidemic are not "sufficiently effective".

"We will adapt the rules based on this data," he told the Sunday Journal.

A tribute to Samuel Paty

In all schools, this very special return to school will also be the time for a tribute to Samuel Paty, professor assassinated on the eve of the holidays for having shown caricatures of Muhammad in a course on freedom of expression.

The Prime Minister, Jean Castex, will go on Monday with the Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, to Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in the Yvelines, where Samuel Paty taught, to participate in the tribute that will be paid to him at the occasion of the new school year, announced Sunday Matignon.

>> To see: Teacher assassinated: "We went from astonishment to determination"

"At the end of a period of exchange without public expression with the educational community of the college of Bois d'Aulne", where the history teacher worked, the Prime Minister will go to the neighboring primary school Le Clos d 'at the top of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine to interact with the students of a CM2 class before observing a minute of silence in tribute to Samuel Paty, "said Matignon in his press release.

The head of government will also meet with local and academic authorities on the implementation of the new health protocol in schools and on the strengthening of security around schools following the change to the "emergency attack" level of the Vigipirate plan .

A minute of silence in the establishments

Due to health and safety constraints, the tribute to Samuel Paty will be limited on Monday in many schools to a minute of silence.

The start of the school year, which was initially to be postponed to 10 a.m. to give the teaching teams time to prepare a tribute to the decapitated professor, will finally be maintained on the usual schedule, announced the Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer to staff on Friday evening.

Since the death of Samuel Paty, France has experienced another attack in a church in Nice and the Vigipirate plan has been raised to the level of "emergency attack" throughout the territory.

“Fixed and mobile” rounds and patrols of gendarmes and police officers are therefore scheduled for Monday in front of the 60,000 schools in the country.

With AFP

The summary of the week

France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 application

google-play-badge_FR