"I wanted to go to an establishment affected by the riots," thinking of the "families, staff and elected officials traumatized by what happened," said the new tenant of the rue de Grenelle, appointed Thursday to succeed Pap Ndiaye, in front of the elementary school Bois de l'Etang in La Verrière (Yvelines).
At the beginning of the school year, some 170 children from this establishment will be schooled at the Regional School of the first degree, made available by the Ile-de-France region.
The mother of an elementary school student told AFP that her 10-year-old son had "not really enjoyed the idea of going elsewhere" at the beginning of the next school year.
"But I explained to him that we could not do otherwise, that his school burned, that he is not the only one to change schools and that the whole teaching team leaves with him" in the new establishment, detailed this mother, Hounas Nacia.
Gabriel Attal estimated at "more than 200" the number of schools damaged by the riots triggered by the death of the young Nahel on June 27, including "a dozen completely destroyed".
"All students will have schooling solutions, and what matters to me is that this schooling is stable. We must put ourselves in the shoes of students and families" and take into account "school transport time and canteen pricing," he added.
Gabriel Attal during a visit to the reconstruction site of the primary school "Bois de l'Etang", damaged during riots in June, in La Verrières in the Yvelines on July 21, 2023 © Alain JOCARD / AFP
The new minister was surrounded by local elected officials, including the senator of Yvelines and president of the Senate, Gérard Larcher (LR), or William Martinet, LFI deputy of Yvelines who challenged him on the priority education networks (REP).
© 2023 AFP