Experimenting with school uniforms is a matter of debate in France. Of the hundred voluntary schools, colleges and high schools, 15 have already gone backwards. In Picardy, out of the five test schools, two threw in the towel.
“Experimenting with the uniform is an attack on freedoms and a formatting of our children.” It is with this sentence that the petition written by the parents of students at the Ferdinand Buisson school, in Saint-Quentin, begins. A petition distributed before the last school council. The management of the establishment finally renounced his candidacy.
After the announcement of the experiment at the beginning of December 2023, by Gabriel Attal, then Minister of National Education, around a hundred schools volunteered throughout France. The objective of the government, within the framework of the National Refoundation Council, is to “strengthen cohesion between students, improve the school climate, fight against the reign of appearance and against all forms of inequality.“
But before getting started, each establishment must validate the project by the board of directors or school council to include the measure in the internal regulations. For schools, consultation work was done upstream with the community.
In Picardy, according to information communicated by the rectorate, a high school is affected in Oise and three schools in Aisne, all located in Saint-Quentin. The town hall proposed these three test schools, Ferdinand Buisson, Amédée Ozenfant and Metz. Out of 4,000 students in the town, 600 are affected. So many complete outfits to buy.
The basic kit, for each student, may consist of five polo shirts, two sweaters and two pants. This kit will cost €200, but families will not have to pay anything. The preferred path is that of half funding by the State, half by the town hall, the department or the voluntary region. “The idea is to start with zero outlay with co-financing from the city and the State and obviously with the same outfit listed in the establishment’s internal regulations.“, explained Frédérique Macarez, mayor of Saint-Quentin, to our France 3 Hauts-de-France team last month.
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Since then, one school, Ferdinand Buisson, has given up on this experiment, facing parents’ refusal. “Some put forward the argument of restoring equality between students, through identical clothing, preventing jealousy, mockery or harassment. We claim to promote social diversity! Putting forward this type of argument after degrading the school map, publishing social position indices, and largely helping the development of private schools, is at the very least a certain hypocrisy. Social inequalities will be expressed in other ways (shoes, jackets, headdresses, satchels, etc.)“, denounce the parents who signed the petition, who obtained 80 signatures.
If the town hall has money to spend, if it finances school bags, kits and school supplies, that would be true social equality.
Parents of students at the Ferdinand Buisson school, in Saint-Quentin
These parents also oppose a financial contradiction. “If the town hall has money to spend, if it finances school bags, kits and school supplies, that would be true social equality. We oppose this operation with the real means we need to defend the public education service: the increase in the budget for outings, for the discovery of museums or historical sites, for books, for additional teachers and substitutes, for a free canteen for all children. There is so much to do for our children.“
The parents we met in front of the Ferdinand Buisson school last January, however, were not all opposed to the project. A mother, met in front of the school gates, confided to us: “It’s better for harassment. Everyone will be in the same boat“. For this student’s father, “this will avoid discrimination. People who have less money, those who have more… You don’t see it with the uniform“.
It’s a real educational project that takes time.
Rectorate of the Amiens academy
The François Truffaut high school, in Beauvais, in Oise, also withdrew from the experiment, after the students’ refusal, during a consultation with management. There remains one high school, in Oise, which is still in the consultation period. “We do not wish to communicate the name of the establishment to avoid disrupting their work“, explains the rectorate of the Amiens academy.
Concerning the deadline for submitting applications, the academy specifies that no date has been set. “The municipalities are going at their own pace for schools, and concerning high schools, the regional council will still have to approve the project in committee. It’s a real educational project that takes time. We will have to keep up the pace for ordering the kits and setting up the system, if the applications arrive later, but we must let the consultation take place..”
The experiment must begin at the start of the next school year, for voluntary establishments. If the results are conclusive, common clothing will be generalized in 2026.