Teachers’ representatives are concerned about the appointments of the MP for French people abroad, Anne Genetet, “a casting error”, and the very right-wing LR parliamentarian Patrick Hetzel.
Will the new Minister of National Education free herself from the issues raised by her predecessor, Gabriel Attal? This is not what the catapulting of the deputy for French people abroad, Anne Genetet, to rue de Grenelle, to replace Nicole Belloubet, suggests. A surprise appointment, this Macronist unknown to the general public and teachers having invested herself during her mandates in issues of diplomacy and defense. Barely had the reshuffle been announced, the teachers’ unions came to the forefront, castigating “a casting error”, and seeing the mark of a “contempt” with regard to national education, reduced to the role of “adjustment variable”.
Teachers’ representatives interpreted his arrival as the result of a “political bargaining”, a sign of the executive’s desire to keep control of the matter. Secretary General of the FSU-Snuipp, Guislaine David deplored the appointment of a «Gabriel Attal clone», which the new minister is close to, “to continue the policy undertaken”, contested by teachers. Sector players fear the weak political clout of this trained doctor, a former consultant in Singapore, who has never shown any particular interest in education issues. Following her appointment, the minister tried, without much success, to reassure, indicating in particular that she wanted “working on the devaluation of the profession and the loneliness of teachers”.
“What does it mean to isolate academic success from the rest of educational policy?”
Anne Genetet is the fifth minister to take the helm of the rue de Grenelle in the space of just over two years. A waltz that is accompanied by reforms galore. The latest, that of the “clash of knowledge” seized upon by Gabriel Attal in December 2023. Supposed to raise the level of students, the reform, which the new minister had publicly supported, is struggling to be implemented. Level groups in French and maths in middle school? A failure. Renamed “needs groups” by Nicole Belloubet for greater flexibility, the system supposed to apply first to sixth and fifth graders is clearly struggling to see the light of day in the majority of establishments. The modification of the brevet planned for this year? Postponed to 2026 due to the wait for the government’s appointment. The “preparatory second” classes, bridges between the third and second year for students who failed the brevet? Open to volunteer students in around a hundred high schools, these classes are struggling to fill up.
Within her ministry, Anne Genetet will have to deal with Alexandre Portier, LR MP for the Rhône, appointed Minister Delegate for Academic Success and Vocational Education, an unprecedented portfolio. This new division is causing perplexity among professionals: “What does it mean to isolate academic success from the rest of educational policy with a delegated minister? Succeeding at school would no longer be a global project of the Minister of National Education?” thus questioned Jérôme Fourniernational secretary of the SE-Unsa union.
Unprecedented distrust of power
A member of the Higher Council of Programs, Portier has been particularly involved in educational issues in recent years. At the initiative of a bill on teacher training and an information mission on the education of children with disabilities, this close friend of Laurent Wauquiez had defended private education during the controversies at the beginning of the year.
The duo is expected to make a big impact, as the profession demands clear direction and more resources, in a context of a crisis in the attractiveness of the profession and unprecedented distrust of the government. Staff have already planned to go on strike on Tuesday, October 1, particularly against the reform of the knowledge shock, and to demand salary increases.
University professors and students are concerned about the appointment of right-wing LR MP Patrick Hetzel to the post of Minister of Higher Education and Research. This close friend of François Fillon, defender of conservative positions on marriage for all, medically assisted procreation and abortion, is one of the architects of the highly controversial LRU law on university autonomy, deemed responsible for the underfunding of higher education. A “coup de grace” for the UNEF, which is already anticipating “many liberal attacks” on the faculties.
Source: www.liberation.fr
