Emmanuel Macron says he wants to make French school holidays shorter, sparking a debate among teachers’ unions and parent groups, reports The Guardian.
In a broad interview in Le Point magazine to mark his return to Paris after three weeks at the presidential summer residence on the Mediterranean coast, Macron said there were “too many school holidays” in France.
He said children who were assessed to be behind with school work should return to classrooms on 20 August for catchup lessons instead of the usual return at the beginning of September. Secondary schoolchildren, who are often allowed to finish in June if they do not have exams, should stay at school for the whole of that month, he said.
But the debate is not clear cut. France has about two weeks’ more school holidays across the year compared with the average in similar countries, although some European countries such as Italy have longer summer breaks.