This rising government figure will be responsible for raising the academic level of students, implementing the “civic rearmament” desired by Emmanuel Macron and supervising the organization of the Paris Olympic Games.
In 2024, it will have to bend over backwards. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra was promoted, Thursday, January 11, to Minister of National Education, Youth, Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, an expanded portfolio for the one who until now only dealt with sporting matters. Promoted from sixteenth to fourth position in the government’s protocol order, the former tennis player becomes one of the heavyweights in Gabriel Attal’s team.
The new Prime Minister, who preceded Amélie Oudéa-Castéra at National Education, declared Friday that the school would be “the mother of battles” of the executive. This “absolute priority”which Gabriel Attal promised to“take away” with him in Matignon, was the subject of the first joint trip by the minister and the head of government, Friday afternoon, to a college in Yvelines. But the former tennis player, who should receive reinforcement from delegate ministers or secretaries of state in the coming days, will also have to take up the challenge of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which will begin on July 26. Here are the main missions that await it, around its new motto: “Read, write, count, move.”
Education: “raising the academic level”
During her handover of power with Gabriel Attal at the Ministry of National Education, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra promised to “pursue” the projects of his predecessor “until success”. “Everything we have started will come to fruition”, confirmed the new head of government, asking him to maintain the “cap” and of “continue to act to raise academic standards”.
“The clash of knowledge will be implemented and will bear fruit.”
Gabriel Attal, Prime Ministerduring his handover of power with Amélie Oudéa-Castéra
The “shock of knowledge” refers to the latest package of measures unveiled by Gabriel Attal in December to improve student results: new maths test at the baccalaureate in first grade, creation of level groups in middle school, entry into high school conditional on obtaining the certificate, controversial return to repeating a year, new primary school programs…
At the same time, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra must finalize discussions started with union organizations on the question of recruitment and training of teachers, with announcements expected in the coming weeks. The final outlines of the experiment with wearing uniforms in schools must also be revealed this winter. The subject of school bullying, established as “absolute priority” by Gabriel Attal from last summer, will also occupy his replacement, notably with the generalization of empathy courses tested for several days in 1,200 schools.
Youth: initiate a “civic rearmament”
During his wishes to the French on December 31, Emmanuel Macron promised a “civic rearmament” of the country, and more particularly of the youth. “France is a culture, a history, a language, universal values that are learned from a young age age”, did he declare. When she took office, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra revealed her vision of this concept, which will involve “the reaffirmed authority of our teachers” And “a school of republican development”in which “the students appropriate the values of the Republic, starting with secularism”.
This “civic rearmament” will also be available outside of school, where they will be promoted “THE values of commitment, starting with the Universal National Service”, detailed the new minister. This SNU project, until now led by the Secretary of State for Youth Prisca Thévenot, now spokesperson for the government, could be entrusted to a new Secretary of State. In October, Gabriel Attal said “hold a lot” to the deployment of the SNU, which he initiated in 2018 when he started in government.
“I deeply believe that we must move towards the generalization of the Universal National Service.”
Gabriel Attal, then Minister of National Educationin October 2023
The idea of a generalization, or even an obligation of the SNU, arouses a lot of reluctance, particularly in parliamentary ranks. At this stage, the system only concerns young volunteers aged 15 to 17, who are carrying out a “cohesion stay” and a mission of general interest during vacation periods. From March, “cohesion stays” will also be offered during school time, although not under the SNU but under the “engaged classes and high schools” system.
Sports: making France “a sporting nation”
During his first five-year term, at the end of the Covid-19 crisis, Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to take advantage of the Paris Games to “really make France a sporting nation”, an expression he has regularly reused since. Thursday, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra took up this speech and promised to continue her action initiated in 2022 in the service of “building our sporting nation”.
To fight against the scourge of a sedentary lifestyle, the minister will be able to rely on the promotion of physical and sporting activity as a “great national cause 2024”. This operation aims to instill in people’s minds that you need to move at least 30 minutes a day, by walking, playing sports or even gardening, to preserve your physical and mental health. “It’s like five fruits and vegetables a day, 30 minutes is the same”, declared “AOC” when presenting the initiative in November. This ambition will involve physical and sporting education, often looked down upon at school, but also through the work of clubs and federations.
The governance of French sport will be another big issue of the year for Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. In December, the minister announced the launch of a “consultation” at the start of the year, which should give rise to a law “legacy” who will arrive “the day after the Olympics”. This initiative will be inspired by a report on ethics and democratic life submitted by Marie-George Buffet and Stéphane Diagana, which calls in particular to review the functioning of federations and to better combat sexist and sexual violence in sport.
Paris 2024 Olympic Games: being “ready” for the event
Will Amélie Oudéa-Castéra dive into the Seine in July, like the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo? One certainty: “AOC” risks being underwater by then, with the heavy responsibility of carrying out the preparation of this event of international scope, fraught with challenges for the image of France in the world. “We will be ready on all dimensions of the organization”she assured, at the beginning of January, claiming to work “very difficult” for the success of the Paris Games, “as a team”.
If she has inherited the portfolio of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the minister will not be the only one to take up the challenge of the organization, which will weigh even more heavily on the shoulders of her colleague from the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, in charge of Security. The sporting, logistical and financial aspect will essentially rely on the work of the Games organizing committee, chaired by Tony Estanguet. In this Olympic and Paralympic millefeuille, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra will above all be the control tower of the State within the system, even if she sees herself more as a game leader, “No. 10”according to The Express. An experience that it could soon repeat, France being well on its way to obtaining the organization of the 2030 Winter Games.