The Minister of National Education, Gabriel Attal, will announce “by the holidays” a “large-scale experiment” on the wearing of uniforms at school, in various local communities, to scientifically measure the effectiveness of such a measure, he said on Wednesday. “Like many French people, I am divided on the question of the uniform. (…) I am not yet convinced that this is a solution that would resolve everything, and also not convinced, like some, that we should not talk about it and try it,” declared Gabriel Attal on France Info. 20 minutes takes stock of this experiment while several candidate cities, such as Metz or Denain, have started to prepare the ground.
What did Gabriel Attal say?
The Minister of National Education said, on Wednesday, that he was “interested to see what results a large-scale experiment would give in terms of school climate, in terms of raising the level of our students” or the impact “on authority at school, school harassment, questions of secularism”. Gabriel Attal will therefore “announce very soon, between now and the holidays” this experiment “with a certain number of establishments, in different local authorities which will experiment with the uniform in our country on a large scale”.
Asked about the age of the students concerned, the minister said that this “will be part” of future announcements. Gabriel Attal also assured “to work with the local authorities concerned so that the experiment can be carried out without any burden for the families”.
What would this uniform consist of?
According to France Info, which cites the information sent by rue de Grenelle to voluntary communities, five polo shirts, two sweaters and two pants should make up the “basic kit” worth 200 euros. It is the communities which will place orders, and which will be able to choose only part of them. Note that these outfits can be personalized by the cities (crest) and that the kit will be renewed each year. The latter should be “funded half by the State, half by the town hall, the department or the voluntary region”, add our colleagues.
Please note that nothing indicates at the moment whether this uniform will be the same for girls and boys or whether it will evolve over the seasons, nor even if the kit contains a sports outfit, “a blouse or an apron for the younger, in kindergarten.”
Towards a generalization?
The announcement of the list of communities selected by the Minister of National Education, Gabriel Attal, is scheduled for mid-December. Among them, the cities of Denain, Metz, Tourcoing, Reims, Nice and the departments of Allier and Alpes-Maritimes and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The experiment should begin in September 2024, “or even in the spring for the most motivated communities,” France Info announced this Monday. Before launching, each establishment will have to “validate the project by the board of directors or school council to include the measure in the internal regulations”, indicates France Info. And let us remember that, on Wednesday, the minister promised “real research monitoring to measure effectiveness”: “if we see that it is effective, we will be able to have a real debate on the generalization of the uniform in France , but at least it will be done on a scientific basis. »
What are the reactions?
“That’s not the topic at the moment. Academic success is a subject that must be treated globally. Perhaps the uniform is an element to take into account but it is certainly not a central element,” reacted Frédéric Leturque, centrist mayor of Arras (Pas-de-Calais) and co-president of the Education commission of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF). “It is not one (single) uniform that we need, but one spring uniform, one summer uniform, one winter uniform and one for sports, which represents a significant financial commitment,” he said. he added. It is neither up to families nor municipalities to bear the cost. »
Which cities have taken the lead?
Metz, candidate, “should” have “the possibility of experimenting in a public school” with wearing a uniform, Anne Stémart, deputy mayor (LR) François Grosdidier, indicated in the municipal council on Thursday. “From spring 2024, in a public school in Metz which will be selected in consultation with parents and the teaching team, schoolchildren will wear identical clothing to school,” she added, and this “without financial solicitation of families”, because the financing will be “supported by the city and the State”.
“It’s about not imposing anything”, but “asking school directors, teachers, parents of students, what their point of view is”, added the mayor, specifying that there would be “a first wave” of establishments which would do so in France “in February-March” and “a second in September”.
In Denain (North), the socialist mayor Anne-Lise Dufour told AFP that a consultation had been carried out with parents of students in schools, and that she was awaiting confirmation from the ministry of a participation of his city to “start phase B”. “In the most favorable school, there were 61% yes, in another more disadvantaged school, 50% yes, 50% no,” she said. In Nice, the mayor (Horizons) Christian Estrosi has “asked to experiment with wearing uniforms in four schools”, indicated the town hall. “We have spoken with the different educational communities of these schools and we are operational to set up this experiment,” Mr. Estrosi said in a press release.
In Puteaux (Hauts-de-Seine), the ministry asked the town hall to implement the experiment in “four schools”, “three for March” (one nursery school and two elementary schools), “and one in September”, concerning a total of 1,100 students, the municipality told AFP. “This will only be validated if the directors of establishments obtain the agreement” in the school council, specified the town hall, stressing that the State had “committed to paying half, the other half is the communities “.