In Marseille, the immense disappointment of teachers and parents of students after the announcements of Emmanuel Macron – archyde

The announcement was expected, figures had been put forward: by going to Marseille on the day of the start of the school year, Emmanuel Macron could not ignore the pharaonic site of the renovation of school buildings, abandoned for decades. Rats, water infiltration, bed bugs, cramped nature: 174 Marseille schools are considered degraded and require major renovations. A project costed at 1.2 billion euros by the town hall – of which it hoped that the president would finance half.

But, in his speech from the Pharo Palace on Thursday, September 2, Emmanuel Macron fell far short of the expectations on the ground. He announced the creation of a local public development company of national interest (Splain), an entity which will be chaired by the mayor, Benoît Payan, under the supervision of the State. Through this company, schools will obtain ” subsidies ” and “Repayable advances”. Neither the amount of aid nor the number of schools concerned has been specified. The Elysée confirmed, later in the evening, that it needed more time to quantify the cost of these renovations.

To understand the extent of the disappointment, we must remember that the current municipal team was built on the mobilizations of civil society around the school question. “In Marseille, the issue of schools is central, but it is not for the president, who came to us to launch his campaign. Obviously, for the Marseillais, the account is not there ”, analysis Séverine Gil, president of the association of parents of students MPE13.

Teachers chosen by the director

Emmanuel Macron insisted on the projects already recorded: the renovation of ten schools (or five school groups) 90% funded by the State, thanks to the recovery plan and the National Agency for Urban Renovation (ANRU). These schools are all located in priority neighborhoods, over which the ANRU is responsible. Will he rely on this device to trigger new subsidies? “The problem is that there are dilapidated schools in every neighborhood, worries Séverine Gil. We get the impression that he only got involved in difficult neighborhoods, when the whole city is concerned. ”

Emmanuel Macron also created a surprise by announcing innovation projects in 50 schools in sensitive neighborhoods. From the start of the 2022 school year, experiments will be launched there to “Rethinking school rhythms” and “The way of teaching”, in a logic of articulation of all “Child’s time” close to that of the educational estates, which already exist in certain priority districts – including three in Marseille.

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