67% of the French believe that the country's education system is "no longer working"

The French elite is losing faith in state education

• The majority of French people prefer private education for their children.

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• The school of Henri IV, which Macron joined.

  From the source

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The middle and upper classes in France disdain the public education system, which it has long considered the cornerstone of the French Renaissance, more than 100 years ago, and these classes send their children to private schools, unlike what they used to do before.

This trend began to emerge after the French government published the Social Status Index, which ranks schools according to a range of factors, including the income and qualifications of pupils' parents, the size of their home, internet access, and sports and cultural activities.

The rankings showed that most of the private secondary schools are in the top 10% in terms of the index.

Among the bottom 10%, very few are private schools.

In Britain, where the rich always send their children to private schools, such numbers are unlikely to cause controversy, but in France there is panic about this new situation.

Le Monde newspaper asked, "Is French education heading towards a division into two educational systems, the first of which includes private schools that are limited to distinguished children, and another system of government schools that absorbs the rest of the students?"

Such a question raises the alarm over the quality of education in a country that often declares its commitment to equality in the educational process and pledges to adhere to the educational concept issued in 1883 when the free public education system was established, to teach “reading, writing, and the basic rules of moral life, to all children.”

The French elite have traditionally seen no need to send their children to private schools since the state sector was considered first class.

Schools such as Lycee Louis-le-Grand and Lycee Henry IV, both in the state sector, are often compared to the schools of Eton and Harrow, in terms of their ability to prepare the future leaders of the nation.

In fact, President Emmanuel Macron studied at the Henri IV School for a year.

Private schools have been able to attract Roman Catholic parents who want a religious education for their children: about 85% of the 12,500 private schools are connected to the Catholic Church.

But habits are changing amid a crisis in the state education sector.

At the start of the school year, for example, 16.9% of teaching positions were vacant at the primary level and 16.6% at the secondary level.

A survey indicated that 67% of French people believe that the state system “is no longer working in the educational system.”

A recent study of pupils' performance in 79 countries ranks France 23rd for reading, behind the United Kingdom and the United States, and 25th for mathematics, a subject in which the French have historically excelled.

The study also denounced the French system as one of the least equal, with poor children five times more likely to fail reading tests than their affluent peers.

The Social Status Index shows that private schools now offer an attractive alternative to the deteriorating state education sector.

Private schools are also becoming more attractive because they are low cost, at least by British standards, with average fees of €849 per year at the secondary level.

Fees are also limited because the state pays teachers in most private schools, and councils fund maintenance of buildings, under an agreement that is supposed to give all children access to private education.

From a practical point of view, Julien Grenet, professor of educational economics at the Paris School of Economics, says, "The working classes face a problem in accessing private education."

• The French elite have traditionally seen no need to send their children to private schools since the state sector was considered first class.

• At the beginning of the academic year, 16.9% of teaching jobs were vacant at the primary level, and 16.6% at the secondary level.

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