Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP 13:05 p.m., January 15, 2024

Faced with calls for his resignation, Education Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra asked on Monday to close "the chapter of personal attacks" on the subject of her children's schooling in private schools, in the hope of extinguishing the first crisis of Gabriel Attal's government.

First week, first textbook case. Barely promoted to the Ministry of Education, "AOC" is already on the defensive. She was forced to justify the enrolment of her three sons at the Stanislas school, a prestigious private school in the capital's upscale districts. The choice was motivated by "packages of hours that have not been seriously replaced" in the public, she explained at first. These remarks were seen as a provocation by the unions, to the point that the minister immediately slammed her neck, saying she "regretted" having "been able to hurt some teachers".

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Strong reactions from the opposition

It was a wasted effort, because the second salvo was not long in coming: on Sunday evening, the newspaper Libération undermined the minister's defence, contradicted by several testimonies. They deny the alleged absence of teachers and underline Amélie Oudéa-Castéra's desire to make the eldest of the siblings skip a class. Revelations that the opposition did not fail to seize on to attack the minister.

"It's a lie that disqualifies her from continuing to hold this position," said Manuel Bompard on franceinfo, while Communist Fabien Roussel said on the social network X that "it's time to resign" because "the days go by and the lies are piling up." This analysis was shared on Radio J by Green MP Benjamin Lucas, who said the minister "lied". "She has to go" in order to "send a signal of appeasement to the educational community that is not doing well," he said.

Days go by and Ms. Oudéa-Castera's lies pile up.

Teachers are not doormats on which she can wipe her feet.

It's time to resign, Minister. https://t.co/yChFl6ZD4F

— Fabien Roussel (@Fabien_Roussel) January 15, 2024

At the other end of the political spectrum, National Rally MP Julien Odoul also lashed out at LCI against these "ministers who blithely lie like Amélie Oudéa-Castéra", judging that she is already "discredited" and "that she should go". Her colleague Jean-Philippe Tanguy insisted on BFMTV and RMC: "If the minister has lied, I don't see how she can continue her public action."

'Personal attacks'

"I don't want to go any further into the realm of personal life and private life. There are attacks that I have tried to respond to with as much sincerity as possible. We must close this chapter of personal attacks and personal life," replied the minister, who is also in charge of youth and sports, at the end of a visit to the Olympic village in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis).

But the few supporters of the minister struggled to hide their embarrassment, like the government spokeswoman, Prisca Thévenot, who kicked in touch on France Inter: "I do not know if she lied, I simply say that she explained why her son was schooled in the private sector." Just like the leader of the Renaissance deputies, Sylvain Maillard, who judged on Sud Radio that Amélie Oudéa-Castéra "was very clear" in explaining "why she wanted to change" from the public to the private.

Meeting with education unions

It is in this context that she is due to start meeting with the education unions on Monday at midday, to discuss her ministry's priorities, including undoubtedly the subject of absenteeism and replacements. This contact is already under the threat of strikes announced for January 25 and February 1. This controversy thwarts the executive's plans, less than a week after a reshuffle that was supposed to give it a new lease of life embodied by Gabriel Attal. All the more so as a former Minister of Education, he assured that he would be the "guarantor" of the "absolute priority" given to schools.

The affair is also a pebble in the shoe of Emmanuel Macron, who considers that the subject "is part of the reserved domain of the president", and is due to specify on Tuesday evening during a press conference how he intends to carry out the "rearmament" of the country, which could involve announcements in terms of education.