Lycée Averroès: the management “convinced” that the contract with the State will be restored

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: SAMEER AL-DOUMY / AFP 5:12 p.m., April 6, 2024

The management of the Lille Averroès high school, the main Muslim secondary school in France, affirmed on Saturday, during a support rally, that they would be able to ensure the start of the 2024 school year despite the breach of the contract with the State and that they were convinced that this contract would eventually be restored. “We will be able to ensure the start of the 2024 school year whatever happens”, thanks to the money collected in recent months in particular via an online prize pool, the director of the Averroès school group, Eric Dufour, welcomed into the microphone during this gathering in Lille which brought together some 200 people.

“Clear discrimination”

Eric Dufour indicated that he was "convinced" that the contract between the State and the high school would eventually be reestablished because, otherwise, "there would be glaring discrimination" compared to other private establishments under contract, with little control. or not sanctioned despite breaches. In December, the Northern prefecture terminated the contract linking the State to this establishment, therefore ceasing to subsidize it from the start of the 2024 school year, twenty years after its creation. The prefect had pointed out teachings deemed “contrary to the values ​​of the Republic”.

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Supported by teachers' unions and the Human Rights League, teachers, students and parents chanted during the rally "double standards, that's it, it's good we're saturating", "republican and excellence, Averroès was the best high school in France" or even "the contract we want to keep, no to precariousness", in front of a banner "Averroès, we are a republican high school". “We built this high school, we made it a high school of excellence,” explained Amel Afejjay, history and geography teacher. Like other teachers, she says she wants to stay at Averroès despite the termination of the contract but fears eventually being forced to “start from scratch” elsewhere.

Everyone hopes that the Council of State, seized after the validation in summary proceedings of the termination of the contract by the administrative court of Lille, will suspend the prefectural measure. The decision of the Council of State could come around mid-May according to Eric Dufour, before a decision from the administrative court on the merits of the case "perhaps in a year or two". The Averroès high school is also awaiting another decision from the Council of State, contacted by the Hauts-de-France region which has refused since 2019 to pay it the approximately 300,000 euros annually provided for under the contract with the State. The online fundraiser to support Averroès, which only represents part of the donations received, exceeded 400,000 euros on Saturday.