Jean-Michel Blanquer, Minister of National Education since May 2017. -

SIPA

The Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, accused Mediapart and

Liberation

, who have investigated the union "Avenir lycéen" and suspect it of being remotely guided by the Ministry of Education, "of doing business with starting from nothing, ”he said this Sunday on RTL.

"If someone looks closely at what is said in these articles, [...] we can see that Liberation and Mediapart are trying to make a deal out of nothing," said the Minister of Education.

Asked whether he or the ministry had used this union, he replied firmly: "Of course not".

On Saturday,

Liberation

published a long article affirming that this high school union created in 2018, which stood out for its defense of government reforms, had "germinated" in the ministry with the idea of ​​"serving communication" from Jean-Michel Blanquer .

Mediapart revealed at the beginning of November that “Avenir lycéen” had received 65,000 euros in grants in 2019 which he had squandered in food expenses and luxury hotels.

These accusations provoked a union outcry and led LFI to call for a parliamentary commission of inquiry.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a "pyromaniac firefighter" for Blanquer

“Why not a commission of inquiry?

It can be interesting.

I like it when there are investigations, it is very important for democracy, "replied Jean-Michel Blanquer on RTL, while accusing LFI of being a" pyromaniac firefighter ".

According to him, this party "has been seeking for years to have an influence on the high school and student environment".

“The links are enormous between LFI and a series of organizations.

They're the ones who do that, it's not me, ”he said.

The minister also minimized any financial drifts at “Avenir lycéen”.

“You just have high school kids who maybe unexpectedly spent the money they had.

I immediately called for an investigation into this.

It is not more than that ”, affirmed the Minister.

After the

Liberation

article

, the high school unions denounced Saturday a "state propaganda" and an attempt by the Ministry of Education "to stifle" the protest of young people.

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  • High school student

  • Ministry of Education

  • National Education

  • Union

  • Jean-Michel Blanquer