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EDUCATION

French schools to stay open later in low-income areas

French schools in low-income neighbourhoods will stay open later in the evening to give pupils a place to do homework, sport or cultural activities, in what president Emmanuel Macron said is an attempt to tackle inequality.

Published: 27 June 2023 11:02 CEST
French schools to stay open later in low-income areas
France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a visit to Marseille, southeastern France, on June 26, 2023. (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN / POOL / AFP)

While visiting the French city of Marseille, French president Emmanuel Macron announced several measures to close gaps in educational inequality, including extended opening times.

Starting with Marseille, the president said that collèges (for pupils aged 11 to 15) in priority areas (locations recognised by the government for having comparatively lower income levels) would stay open from 8am to 6pm, in an attempt to offer pupils a place to do their homework, or enjoy extracurricular activities from sports to culture.

Macron said that educational inequality is “created in the time when the child is sent home” – for example between pupils who have a calm space to do homework and those who don’t. 

The initiative will eventually be extended to all priority neighbourhoods in France, the president said, affecting collèges that are considered priority – also known as ‘REP’ or ‘REP+’.  

Elementary schools – for children aged six to 11 – have after-school clubs known as périscolaire which stay open until 7pm and are widely used by parents as affordable childcare.

The president also said that, in priority districts in Marseille, maternelles (pre-school, children aged 3-6) would start to welcome children aged 2 and above. By 2027, the goal is that this will be extended across the French territory to other priority districts too.

Maternelles currently take children aged between three and six – in 2018 it was made compulsory, another act from the Macron government aimed at targeting educational inequality by ensuring that all children are at the same level once they start elementary school aged six.

He also mentioned plans to reduce class sizes for maternelles in priority areas.

Marseille – France’s second largest city which sits along the Mediterranean in the south of the country – has long struggled with poverty and inequality, particularly in the city’s northern districts.

READ MORE: Does the French city of Marseille deserve its ‘dangerous’ reputation?

During the 2023 visit, Macron also promised to double state funding to enhance public transport networks in the city, a follow-up to his 2021 plan called ‘Marseille en Grand’ – which intended to regenerate the city by providing more funding for infrastructure to better connect underserved neighbourhoods, fight the drug trade, and renovate dilapidated schools.

Despite these plans, there has been frustration amongst Marseille residents that the goals have not been brought to fruition. During a meeting with several residents of the city on Monday night, Macron was confronted by residents from northern parts of the city who told the president that “nothing has been done”, according to reporting by Le Monde.

In response, Macron acknowledged that though work has begun, it “has not gone fast enough”. So far, since the launch of the 2021 scheme, 28 school construction or renovation projects have been launched, with a budget of €1.5 billion.

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PARIS

Can Paris make the Metro ‘fully accessible’ for people with disabilities?

Disability rights groups and leaders from the Paris region have signed a pact promising to make the Paris Metro accessible for people with disabilities - here's what they're actually agreeing to and how long this could take.

Published: 10 September 2024 17:15 CEST
Can Paris make the Metro 'fully accessible' for people with disabilities?

On the penultimate day of the Paris Paralympic Games, the head of the region, Valérie Pécresse, signed a pact with the city of Paris and the APF-France Handicap association to engage in the ‘titanic’ project of making the Paris Metro system accessible to people with disabilities.

The Games had highlighted just how poorly Paris scores when it comes to accessibility, with its Metro system almost entirely barred to people in wheelchairs or those with reduced mobility.

Pécresse, who is also the head of Ile-de-France Mobilités, noted the importance of updating the Metro system in light of the city’s ageing population and for environmental reasons. Pécresse has also called for holding a local referendum to get Parisians on board.

During the Paralympics closing ceremony, the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Andrew Parsons, referenced Pécresse’s announcement.

“We all have a collective responsibility to take advantage of the momentum of the Paralympic Games to make this world more inclusive (…) We must enable people with disabilities to excel off the playing field.

“The best Paralympic legacies are those that continue after the Games and I call on all those involved to make the dream of an accessible Paris Metro a dazzling reality,” he said.

Then he addressed Pécresse specifically, adding: “Thank you to the President of the Île-de-France region Valérie Pécresse for her ambition to make the Metro accessible.”

What are the specifics of the plan?

So far, things are quite vague. In fact even calling this a ‘plan’ might be going too far – what the leaders signed was more of a statement of ambition.

The earliest estimates suggest that such a project would require between €15-20 billion in funding over a period of 20 years, which Pécresse proposed would be shared equally between the city of Paris, the region of Ile-de-France and the State, Le Figaro reported.

Pécresse suggested to the French press that the work could begin with Metro Line 6, which would be easier to make accessible due to the fact that it is mostly above-ground. 

Nevertheless, work on this line alone would cost between €600 and €800 million.

The goal would be to finally make the Metro accessible for people with reduced mobility – although there are some Metro stations that will never be entirely accessible, due to historical constraints and ‘an already congested Paris underground’, MesInfos reported. 

In terms of how the project would be paid for, Paris deputy mayor, Lamia El Araje, who focuses on accessibility for people, said: “We have to go and find the revenue,” noting a possible increase in the tourist tax, which she argued has been done in other international capitals such as Berlin and New York.

In Paris, this tax currently ranges from €0.65 (per night per person) for the most basic campsites to €14.95 for the highest end hotels (palaces).

READ MORE: How much is the ‘tourist tax’ in France?

What is the Paris Metro situation currently?

As things stand, only 29 metro stations on just two lines (11 and 14) are accessible to people with reduced mobility.

The RER (commuter train) assures that lines A and B, as well as the tram and bus networks, are intended to be accessible.

READ MORE: ANALYSIS: How accessible is Paris for people with disabilities?

However, there are still some challenges on these services be too. A bus line is deemed accessible once 70 percent of its stops are classified that way, which means many stops are not available for people with reduced mobility. This may be due to technical issues, such as an inability to enlarge or raise the sidewalk.

Also, most buses only allow for a maximum of one wheelchair.

As for the city’s tram system – the challenge is that most trams only serve the city outskirts and suburbs, so they are not very useful for tourists or people needing to get into the city centre.

Although the RER, the commuter train that serves the city and its outer suburbs – including links into Paris from its two airports – might be more ‘accessible’ than the Metro, many stations require the assistance of a person working there.

This means that a person with a disability would need to plan or call ahead to ensure staff will be present to assist them.

In the future, the new Grand Paris Express lines (15, 16, 17 and 18) will be entirely accessible, which means that 68 accessible stations will be added to the Paris Metro network by 2030.

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