Unions urge teachers to strike as French school exams go ahead in up to 40C heat
Teachers in France are risking their own and students’ health in overheated schools as a severe heatwave sets new record temperatures, education unions said, urging staff to strike over “unacceptable working conditions”.
Several teaching unions on Thursday issued a joint statement denouncing a “blatant lack of preparation” by the government, after teachers have had to work in classrooms where temperatures reached up to 40C.
“The health of staff and pupils is being put at risk,” unions said, suggesting staff strike individually wherever and whenever they felt it necessary.
Most of France is under red alert, and the heatwave is expected to reach its peak on Thursday. Authorities closed 3,500 schools considered too dangerously hot and reduced hours at a further 10,000.
Most French school buildings – and their exposed playgrounds – were not designed for extreme temperatures. Many buildings are not properly insulated and most lack air-conditioning. Many schools were designed with large windows and no external shutters, causing classroom temperatures to soar above 30C or even 40C.
In some nursery and primary schools, teachers have had to keep curtains closed and spray children with water to try to cool them.
France is struggling to adapt its heat-trap school buildings for the exam season as hundreds of thousands of teenagers sit national tests in the heatwave.
The education minister, Édouard Geffray, said on Thursday that the “brevet” exams, which more than 850,000 15-year-olds begin sitting on Friday, would go ahead despite record temperatures.
Geffray said the exams would take place in the mornings and be over by midday. Desks would be spaced out to allow fewer students per room. Water would be handed out and rules adapted to allow students to take pauses and to leave their desk to cool down.
He told France 2 TV: “We’ll try to create optimal conditions – well, less unpleasant conditions – for the exams to be sat. But I think it’s better for students to do their exams now rather than not at all, or to postpone until September.”
In high schools, students have been taking their crucial baccalaureate oral exams throughout the heatwave, with some, as well as their examiners, feeling faint and even having to be treated by school nurses. Students have complained of being unable to revise in their homes, which are often heat traps.
The Île-de-France region, which includes Paris, has issued €1m (£860,000) of emergency funding to help high-school exam centres buy fans and cooling equipment.
In Paris, many parents decided it was safer for children to be at school than in overheated homes in record temperatures.
Geffray said not all schools would close completely because for the many French children living in heat-trap homes, a hot school might be preferable. “If it’s 40C in children’s homes, and 30C in schools, I prefer to adapt school activities for them,” he said.
Geffray said that from next summer all national exams would be held in the morning, rather than the afternoon. But unions have called for a complete overhaul of school buildings and exam scheduling to deal with heatwaves, which are hitting earlier in the school year.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
A severe heatwave across France has created difficult conditions in schools unprepared for extreme temperatures. Most French school buildings lack adequate cooling infrastructure, with some classrooms reaching 40°C. Teaching unions have called for strikes to protest working conditions, while authorities have closed 3,500 schools and reduced hours at 10,000 others. Over 850,000 teenagers are sitting national exams during the heatwave; the education minister has decided exams will proceed with modifications including morning scheduling, increased desk spacing, water provision, and break allowances. The government is funding emergency cooling equipment and has committed to holding all future national exams in mornings rather than afternoons. Some parents prefer schools remain open, as many homes are also heat traps without air conditioning.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
Teachers in France are risking their own and students’ health in overheated schools as a severe heatwave sets new record temperatures, education unions said, urging staff to strike over “unacceptable working conditions”.
Several teaching unions on Thursday issued a joint statement denouncing a “blatant lack of preparation” by the government, after teachers have had to work in classrooms where temperatures reached up to 40C.
“The health of staff and pupils is being put at risk,” unions said, suggesting staff strike individually wherever and whenever they felt it necessary.
Most of France is under red alert, and the heatwave is expected to reach its peak on Thursday. Authorities closed 3,500 schools considered too dangerously hot and reduced hours at a further 10,000.
Most French school buildings – and their exposed playgrounds – were not designed for extreme temperatures. Many buildings are not properly insulated and most lack air-conditioning. Many schools were designed with large windows and no external shutters, causing classroom temperatures to soar above 30C or even 40C.
In some nursery and primary schools, teachers have had to keep curtains closed and spray children with water to try to cool them.
France is struggling to adapt its heat-trap school buildings for the exam season as hundreds of thousands of teenagers sit national tests in the heatwave.
The education minister, Édouard Geffray, said on Thursday that the “brevet” exams, which more than 850,000 15-year-olds begin sitting on Friday, would go ahead despite record temperatures.
Geffray said the exams would take place in the mornings and be over by midday. Desks would be spaced out to allow fewer students per room. Water would be handed out and rules adapted to allow students to take pauses and to leave their desk to cool down.
He told France 2 TV: “We’ll try to create optimal conditions – well, less unpleasant conditions – for the exams to be sat. But I think it’s better for students to do their exams now rather than not at all, or to postpone until September.”
In high schools, students have been taking their crucial baccalaureate oral exams throughout the heatwave, with some, as well as their examiners, feeling faint and even having to be treated by school nurses. Students have complained of being unable to revise in their homes, which are often heat traps.
The Île-de-France region, which includes Paris, has issued €1m (£860,000) of emergency funding to help high-school exam centres buy fans and cooling equipment.
In Paris, many parents decided it was safer for children to be at school than in overheated homes in record temperatures.
Geffray said not all schools would close completely because for the many French children living in heat-trap homes, a hot school might be preferable. “If it’s 40C in children’s homes, and 30C in schools, I prefer to adapt school activities for them,” he said.
Geffray said that from next summer all national exams would be held in the morning, rather than the afternoon. But unions have called for a complete overhaul of school buildings and exam scheduling to deal with heatwaves, which are hitting earlier in the school year.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
Teaching unions issued a joint statement on Thursday urging strikes over unsafe working conditions Temperatures in French classrooms have reached up to 40°C Authorities closed 3,500 schools and reduced hours at 10,000 others Most French school buildings lack air conditioning and proper insulation Over 850,000 students are beginning national exams on Friday Exams will proceed with modifications including morning scheduling and water provision The Île-de-France region issued €1m in emergency funding for cooling equipment From next summer, all national exams will be scheduled in mornings rather than afternoons The union's characterisation of the situation as a 'blatant lack of preparation' reflects a judgment about government planning Keeping schools open despite heat is justified because some homes are hotter than schools
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
- France is experiencing a severe heatwave with temperatures reaching 40°C, forcing school closures and exam postponements
- Teaching unions have urged staff to strike over unsafe working conditions, citing inadequate school infrastructure without air conditioning
- Over 850,000 students are sitting national exams during the heatwave, with authorities implementing measures like morning-only scheduling and water provision
- Most French school buildings lack insulation and air conditioning, causing interior temperatures to exceed exterior readings
- The government has committed to moving all national exams to morning slots from next summer onwards