Emmanuel Macron announces that he wants to launch a “big plan” for the energy renovation of schools. It promises financial aid to municipalities: schools represent a third of the energy consumption of buildings in a municipality. Report in Normandy.
Six months ago, the pupils of the André-Malraux school were shivering in winter, and yet the energy bill was exploding. So, the mayor of Vire Normandie, Marc Andreu Sabaterrealized that everything had to be renovated. “These are buildings that date from the 60s and 70s. So, at the time, the energy concern was not the same as today. It was a thermal sieve, of course”, he breathes at franceinfo. The objective being to reduce energy consumption by half, the town hall has therefore launched major works. “We do insulation from the outside, so that means we will apply insulation to the exterior facades and cover it”explains the chosen one. “So it’s a very effective method, the most effective way to make very quick energy gains.”
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The city of Vire Normandie has taken the lead on Emmanuel Macron’s announcement. In an interview given to Parisian Today in France published Monday, April 24, the Head of State announces that he wants to launch a “big plan” energy renovation of schools and promises financial aid to municipalities to put an end to thermal sieves. Indeed, schools represent a third of the energy consumption of buildings in a municipality, according to a report dating from 2020.
Classes at 12 or 13 degrees
The Vire Normandie school is therefore in full construction. In addition to the insulation of the exterior façade, the windows were also replaced, the heating system modified, and air circulation optimized. In all, the site amounts to 800,000 euros, 30% of which is financed by the State. And for Mayor Marc Andreu Sabater, this boost that Emmanuel Macron wants to generalize is essential: “If we don’t have subsidies, making a return on investment over time, that is to say managing to balance, to finance the cost of the work, it takes decades. So we really need this support . It’s absolutely essential.” For Guislaine David, co-secretary general of Snuipp-FSU, this announcement by the president is a good first step, because it is high time, according to her, to renovate the more than 48,000 French schools.
“We have feedback from teachers who tell us of poorly insulated classes, especially at the level of the windows which let the air through because of insufficient insulation, so winter is cold, it’s not not uncommon to have classes at 12 or 13 degrees in the morning.”
Guislaine David, co-general secretary of Snuipp-FSUat franceinfo
“When they arrive at school in the morning, students cannot work in good conditions”she adds. “It is therefore obvious that the school building deserves our interest and that we be very vigilant in renovating all our schools.” Nevertheless, she is awaiting more details on this great plan announced by Emmanuel Macron: “We have some doubts about this renovation plan, we would like to know what is going on, because we were scalded by the plan on air quality in the classrooms during the Covid period, and we do not. still has not implemented.”
For his part, the mayor of Vire Normandie is now expecting to officially cut the ribbon in a few weeks to celebrate the renovation of the André-Malraux school.
The report by Lise Roos-Weil in Vire Normandie
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