They are more than tired of seeing their territory treated less well than the rest of France. And particularly in matters of education. Twelve municipalities in Seine-Saint-Denis have taken, or will do so shortly, orders ordering the State to create teaching positions, considering that the situation “undermines human dignity” and constitutes a “disturbance to public order”.
Bagnolet, Bobigny, L’Île-Saint-Denis, La Courneuve, Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, Les Lilas, Montreuil, Noisy-le-Sec, Pantin, Romainville, Sevran, Stains and Villetaneuse explain in a press release that “the Seine -Saint-Denis still remains the poor relation of equality, at the regional and national level.” They ask the State to “initiate as quickly as possible” the emergency plan proposed by the inter-union of teachers of Seine-Saint-Denis.
One year lost on average
“A child from Seine-Saint-Denis does not have the same rights as a child from Rambouillet or Paris. This major inequality must be corrected. It is not normal that our children lose a year of schooling or that children with disabilities are less welcomed or helped,” thunders Patrice Bessac, the mayor of Montreuil, based on a report by communist deputy Stéphane Peu. . According to this report, a child from Seine-Saint-Denis loses on average one year of lessons during their entire schooling.
If the protest is not new – teachers in Seine-Saint-Denis have been demonstrating and striking for almost two months – it is the method that is. Because to challenge the State’s shortcomings in court, the mayors rely on a decision of the Council of State dating from October 27, 1995 emphasizing that “respect for the dignity of the human person is a component of public order “. They believe that serious inequality constitutes an attack on dignity, and that mayors have a duty to act when public order is disturbed.
Dwarf Throw
The idea comes from François Dechy, mayor of Romainville, who remembered a law dissertation when he was at Sciences Po Rennes, in 1997. It focused on the case of the town of Morsang-sur-Orge (Essonne ), who had issued an order to stop a dwarf throwing that was taking place in a nightclub. Initially rejected in court, the municipality ultimately won before the Council of State, which therefore recognized a link between respect for human dignity and public order.
In their decree, the municipalities request posts, under penalty of a penalty of 500 euros per day of delay. The decree of the city of Montreuil, which we were able to consult, requires, for example, 75 teaching positions, 8 school psychologist positions, 33 positions for primary school teachers for students with disabilities and 60 positions supporting students with disabilities (AESH). Noisy-le-Sec is requesting 12 teacher positions, 3 school psychologist positions and 13 primary school teachers for students with disabilities.
“We take from the poor to give to the richest”
The elected officials we contacted insist that they are not asking more than other municipalities. “We do not want additional resources, just real equality for citizens,” argues François Dechy. “We are not asking for more, we are asking for the same conditions of access to the law”, adds, echoing, Patrice Bessac. The mayor of Montreuil wants to put an end to the idea, spread according to him on the right or in the majority, according to which we would “dump a crazy amount of money on Seine-Saint-Denis” (reference to a short sentence from the president on social minimums): “In reality when we look at the figures, we have less, we take from the poor to give to the richest. »
Once the decrees have all been published, the State will have to either apply them, pay the 500 euros per day requested, or have them canceled, which should logically bring the matter before the Council of State. A situation that Patrice Bessac does not fear: “We are going to show before the highest administration, the Council of State, that there are serious acts in State policy which constitute an inequality of citizens before the law, and major territorial discrimination. »