French mayors representing the Ile-de-France region, which includes the city of Paris, have called on President Emmanuel Macron to delay the reopening of schools until after May 11th, denouncing the plan as a “forced march” out of the country's coronavirus lockdown
Pushing back against calls for a delay in school re-openings, French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe on Monday said the closure of schools was "a catastrophe” for the country’s most vulnerable children and adolescents.
Addressing the Senate, where he was presenting a bill to extend France’s health emergency to June 24th, Philippe insisted that for “tens of thousands of young people,” extending the primary school lockdown until the end of the term “is probably a time bomb".
The prime minister reiterated that the lockdown easing plan entailed "very gradually reopening kindergartens and elementary schools from May 11th, everywhere in the territory and on a voluntary basis". Secondary school would start re-opening from May 18th in the country’s “green zones” where infections have been low, said Philippe.
Philippe’s government has been criticised for failing to consult with the mayors on how to best reintegrate students and teachers back into schools.
"Many people still don't have any information about the teachers who would be available for our schools, the number of extra-curricular activity staff who could be available, or even the number of pupils to be accommodated," said the mayors.
They called on the government to "clearly prioritise the children who will be able/should be able to return to school taking into account the family context of each child".