More broadly, the Ministry of Education counted degradations in 243 establishments.
The Minister promises that all students will be welcomed somewhere at the start of the school year. A dozen schools have been “destroyed or partially destroyed” during the recent nights of riots which followed the death of Nahel, 17, killed by a policeman during a traffic check, announced Pap Ndiaye, Tuesday July 4 on RTL.
“Sixty establishments suffered significant damage, with, for example, the start of fires”, added the Minister of Education. More broadly, the ministry counted degradations in 243 establishments, schools, colleges and high schools.
Two schools destroyed in La Verrière
At present, “we are talking about tens of millions of euros” damage, said Pap Ndiaye. For most of the establishments affected, where premises have not been completely destroyed, work should take place during the summer to allow a reopening in good conditions at the start of the school year.
“There are broken windows, for example: that’s easy to replace”, noted the minister, pointing out however the difficulty in recruiting construction companies during the summer period. But, in the most serious cases, establishments will probably not be able to reopen in early September. The minister notably cited the case of two schools, in the Ile-de-France town of La Verrière (Yvelines), which will have to be “completely rebuilt”.
The minister also refused to “overwhelm the parents” rioters, often minors. “It is legitimate to ask parents to take care of children” but “You have to take into account the specific difficulties of certain families: when a mother works at night, it’s still more complicated for the children”, he added. It’s necessary “empowering parents” but “It doesn’t mean punishing families, it means helping them so that they can take care of their children”judged Pap Ndiaye.