Simon Bourtembourg 7:10 a.m., January 26, 2023, modified at 7:12 a.m., January 26, 2023

For 47 days, the students of this college in Villejuif did not have access to drinking water.

More than a month and a half of galley, without water in the canteen, but especially without toilets.

Until this Wednesday, when the Val-de-Marne department launched work, which made it possible to reopen the toilets.

Europe 1 visited the establishment.

No drinking water, no access to toilets... Since December, 440 students from a college in Villejuif, in the Paris region, have been living in a very complicated situation.

Due to long-lasting plumbing problems, they no longer have a carafe of water in the canteen, nor even a bathroom.

This Wednesday, the Department has just started the work.

"We can't wash our hands"

For 47 days, the students had to make do with dry toilets installed in the playground.

"It's cold because it's outside, there are only plastic doors that protect us. It's often wet," explains a student.

Some college students avoid going there altogether.

"Sometimes I really want to go to the toilet, it distracts me, I can't work," adds a schoolgirl, who is not the only one in this situation.

"I never go to the toilet at school, I don't like it. You can't wash your hands."

>> Find all the editorial newspapers of Europe 1 in replay and podcast here

Some parents, like Séverine, have even gone so far as to consider changing their school children.

"When I see the conditions deteriorating, it becomes complicated. We ask ourselves the question of changing our child's establishment", explains the mother of the family.

Still no access to drinking water

Except that this Wednesday, the first articles appear in the press.

And while Europe 1 is reporting in front of the school, a teacher calls out.

"When I opened my Pronote account, I just saw a message from our headteacher who told us that the student toilets had been reopened. I think the fact that journalists took up the issue helped us a lot. “, she advances.

But the department of Val-de-Marne assures us that it is a coincidence and that the work was planned for that day.

The toilets have been repaired, but the students still do not have access to drinking water.