“It’s the return of bling bling at a time when everyone has to tighten their belts”, reacts Olivier Faure

“It’s the feeling of the return of bling bling at a time when everyone is asked to tighten their belts”, reacted on Monday January 17 on franceinfo Olivier Faure, first secretary of the Socialist Party (PS), to the fact that Jean-Michel Blanquer was in Ibiza when he announced the new health protocol in schools.

franceinfo: What shocks you?

Oliver Faure: a minister has the right to take a vacation and no one will blame him. What I blame the minister for is having improvised this return to school, with teachers who did not know which saint to devote themselves to, parents of students who did not know what this protocol would be either. We discover that this improvisation was born of a lie and the holidays of a minister who did not return in time and who continued to be on vacation at a time when we were waiting for his instructions. The tragedy is that the protocol lasted a few days since we have had three protocols since the start of the school year and the third has been lightened. We can clearly see that nothing was ready and everything was improvised as we went along. The feeling that it gives is that we have a minister who is no longer completely in his business and that cannot stick.

Are you asking for the minister’s resignation?

When there is no trust between a minister and his own administration, his own agents who have been dedicated for two years, obviously it is very complicated. Jean-Michel Blanquer should draw all the conclusions and the President of the Republic with him

“When the confidence is gone, the best thing is to change. I think he should draw the conclusions.”

Olivier Faure, first secretary of the Socialist Party

at franceinfo

I’m not here to make anyone’s skin. The reality is that in a few days, weeks, there will be a presidential election and I hope that on this occasion we will have a change in this country. I will be the President of the Republic, I will be the Minister of Education, I will take note of the fact that trust is no longer possible. It’s the feeling of the return of bling bling at a time when everyone is asked to tighten their belts.

Would this resignation really make sense 83 days from the end of the five-year term?

What would make sense would be to put an end to the contempt from which teachers suffer and give them the feeling that they are sometimes heard. Don’t keep doing what you’ve been doing for too long. We could mention the fact that the minister promises FFP2 masks for teachers and which have not arrived, the possibility for schools to be equipped with air purifiers, which is not the case. Orally it is sometimes suitable but there is a big gap between the words and the action. I really believe that the best thing is to ensure that confidence can return quickly.