free canteen, level groups, SNU… What are the main parties’ proposals on education?

Before the legislative elections, franceinfo takes stock of the main measures put forward in this campaign. Concerning education, several training courses have developed multiple proposals.

If the presidential majority is essentially based on projects already launched or announced, the New Popular Front and the National Rally show great interest in schools. They both want, for example, to reduce the numbers per class in primary education: 19 maximum for the left-wing coalition, 20 for the far-right party.

The left proposes to create a public support service for students with disabilities, when the outgoing government plans to strengthen inclusive schools, in continuity with what has been done since 2017. In the few program elements promoted by Gabriel Attal, there are also group purchases of school supplies. The measure has been in the pipeline since last year.

The New Popular Front wants to move, for its part, towards completely free schooling, such as supplies, but also canteens, transport and extracurricular activities. Finally, the RN has long defended the ban on accompanying school trips for mothers of students who wear the veil.

The far right and the left want to repeal the “shock of knowledge”, this package of measures initiated by Gabriel Attal and its emblematic measure of middle school level groups, strongly rejected in schools. But when the New Popular Front wishes to preserve the “pedagogical freedom”, the RN wants to completely overhaul this level. No more single college, the far-right party wants one college “modular”. The children would move on to the end of CM2 “national exam” which would determine entry into 6th grade, and students in difficulty would be directed earlier towards vocational sectors.

Authority is also at the heart of Jordan Bardella’s program, with the compulsory uniform for all and the creation of “specialized centers” for disruptive students, until they are 16 years old. For private education, which has also been in the news in recent months, “it must be respected”, say the Republicans. The New Popular Front wants to link establishment allocations and social diversity, including the private sector.

The RN and the New Popular Front want to put an end to Parcoursup. The far right wants to return to the old series: L, ES and S. They also want to create a primacy of the nationality criterion in the allocation of scholarships and student accommodation. The left proposes to eliminate selection at university and to introduce the one-euro meal in university restaurants for everyone, which is the case today only for scholarship students. For their part, the Republicans defend more autonomy for establishments.

As for the SNU, the Universal National Service, it would disappear in the event of a victory for the left parties. The presidential majority still plans to generalize it by 2026.

The left wants to revalue salary scales by promising a 10% increase in the index point for all civil servants. On the RN side, the revaluation of teachers, promised at 3% per year in 2022, “will be updated”. But the party also wants to review the status of secondary school teachers, who would be obliged to self-replace. The systematic replacement of absences is also promoted by Gabriel Attal, which would therefore go further than what is done today.