The French Parliament approved the education bill tabled by Emmanuel Macron’s Government, set to introduce radical changes in the country’s education. Among the provisions included in the legislative package, there is the obligation to hang in every classroom up to secondary school the flags of both France and the European Union. The banners will also be accompanied by the famous French motto Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (Freedom, Equality, Fraternity) and the lyrics of the country’s national anthem, the Marseillaise.
In addition, when a map of France is present in the classes, it must now represent the overseas territories in addition to the metropolis.
This provision was introduced as an amendment by Eric Ciotti, a member of centre-right The Republicans, on February 11.
The initial amendment saw only the introduction of French symbols in classrooms – but other members of the Parliament further amended Mr Ciotti’s proposal, adding the EU flag too.
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Mr Ciotti celebrated the vote adopting the reform on Twitter, saying: “The law has definitively been adopted.
“Thanks to my amendment in each class of each school will appear the motto of the Republic, the French flag, the EU flag & the words of the Marseillaise.
“The values that underlie our nation must be transmitted from an early age.”
This reform is known as Loi Blanquer (Blanquer bill), named after the education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer, unknown to the most just a few months ago, before the Government started talking about undertaking radical changes to France’s education system.
The law introduces way more drastic measures than just the presence of flags in schools, including forcing children to enter education at the age of three rather than at the age of six.
This translates into action an electoral promise made by Mr Macron in 2018, and it will only affect 26,000 children currently not attending kindergartens, according to French newspaper La Croix.
The Blanquer bill, which will come into force as early as September 2020, has been heavily debated in Parliament, and some of its most controversial measures were dropped along the way.
The initial draft included the return of uniforms in school, the return of the dictation, bilingual classes, the establishment of choirs and the ban on mobile phones.
The bill was approved by the National Assembly and the Senate, on July 2 and July 4 respectively.
(Additional reporting by Maria Ortega)