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Confinement extended until May 11
The head of state announced that May 11 could be the date of a release from confinement progressive in France. By specifying, however, that deconfinement can only be initiated if “the spread of the virus has effectively continued to slow down. In the meantime, the rules in force remain those of an equally strict confinement. Outings are only authorized in exceptional circumstances, and for very specific reasons.
Nurseries, schools, colleges, high schools: towards a gradual reopening from May 11
From May 11, schools could open again. It is indeed a “priority” for Emmanuel Macron, because of the “current situation”, source of “inequalities”. The measures taken by the government to ensure educational continuity do not seem, in fact, to benefit all children in the same way. During the next few weeks, the government will study specific rules for a recovery which will be progressive. This implies, underlined Emmanuel Macron, “to organize time and space differently, protect our teachers and children well, with the necessary equipment. The students will not physically return to class until the start of the 2020 school year.
During an interview on Tuesday April 14, Jean-Michel Blanquer sketched on April 14 the contours of this gradual return to the school benches: “Not everyone will return at the same time, that’s already certain. “More precisely, there will be” not the same ages who will return to school at the same time. », He indicates. For the minister, “taking charge of students in difficulty” is considered “a priority”, which is why vocational high schools could be among the first establishments to resume classes.
On the practical side, the minister mentions pre-re-entry trails : “We are going to develop a whole methodology” to contact the families – while around 5% of families have been unreachable since the start of confinement – then a gradual return to schooling. “Nobody can imagine that in May-June it will be as before”, hammered the minister.
The classes should work in small groups, especially in kindergarten. A new operation which should be accompanied by “a less important course load” and therefore “a very personalized educational work”. In addition, specified the Minister, several stages must be carried out before the students return: “Clean the premises”, “prepare the pedagogical work”. “It will be very personalized,” says Jean-Michel Blanquer. “We can only imagine small groups: it will be an arrangement of time and necessarily very specific contents”, and with “a less important hourly load” for the pupils. The gradual recovery “necessarily implies that we are not going to have the same ages which come in at the same time,” said the minister.
This decision to reopen schools on May 11 provokes critical reactions from teachers and parents. These highlight the lack of health guarantees resulting from such a rapid return of children to class.
In addition, the Head of State also announced the reopening of nurseries. The modalities have not yet been specified.
In video: 16 ideas to keep kids busy during confinement
Help for precarious families and students
In his speech of April 12, 2020, the Head of State asked the government to “pay out without delay exceptional assistance for the poorest families with children in order to meet basic needs”. In addition, he also thinks of “ most precarious students sometimes living far from their families ”who should receive“ help ”.
On April 15, the Prime Minister specified the amount of this aid:
- Uexceptional aid of 150 euros will be paid on May 15 to households receiving the Active Solidarity Income (RSA) or the Specific Solidarity Allowance (ASS). To this help are added 100 euros per child.
- Families who receive housing assistance, but which do not touch the RSA or the ASS, will receive an aid of 100 euros per child.