ROME. The mobilization promises to be massive: today teachers in France, exasperated by the waltz of the health protocols linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, announced a strike that should lead to the closure of half of the schools. All the teachers’ unions have called a strike in the high schools. They denounce “an indescribable mess” in schools because of health protocols. “The government announces things, but what is asked of us is hellish,” said Olivier Flipo, director of a Parisian school.
Closures
Today, therefore, half of the schools in France will be closed due to a national mobilization of teachers against the new health protocol developed by the government. The estimate is provided by Snuipp-Fsu, the first transalpine trade union in the school sector, adding that 75% of teachers in the first grade school are expected to participate in the strike. “It will be a historic mobilization and it will not be a strike against the virus,” reads a union statement. The Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, defined the protest as “a strike against the virus”. “There is nothing more dramatic than closing our schools,” Prime Minister Jean Castex said in an address to the National Assembly. “When schools close, it creates a profound injustice,” said President Emmanuel Macron in a press conference with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
Omicron effect
Two days ago, 10,000 classrooms were closed in France due to Covid cases, while 50,000 positives were detected in the school world. This was announced by the French Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, communicating the latest data available during an interview with Bfmtv. In France, pupils returned to class on January 3, but with the novelty that children aged six and over are required to wear masks in public. Also in France there was a debate on whether to reopen schools for fear that it could contribute to the spread of the Omicron variant.