Jean-Michel Blanquer was the guest of the JT of TF1 to silence the accusations of dilettantism after the revelations of his vacation in Ibiza. The minister indeed wanted to show that he took the measure of the problem caused by these four days of vacation, just before a return to school under Covid-19, very complicated for the parents of pupils. Invited to Europe Matin on Wednesday, the Minister of Transformation and the Public Service, Amélie de Montchalin, returned to this controversy and considered that “we have an interest in putting this flash in the pan aside”.
“Put aside the controversies”
“The Minister said everything he had to say on the subject on Tuesday in the Assembly. Now I think that in the interest of our country, in the interest of our children, in the interest of public service, it is in our interest to put these debates, these controversies, sometimes these flashes in the pan that emerge, aside and to focus on what the French expect from us”, she called. “And it is that we are at their side so that this country, despite its very trying crisis, can stand up, and that we are in honor of the courage they show every day.”
She felt that what matters right now is “the state of our country”. “We are at a time when we can see that the parents are tired, the teachers and the children are also fed up. So we must not lose course because the French do not lose course. […] The government made a commitment that in this crisis we would not put children aside,” she continued.
“A continuous dialogue with teachers”
While a new call for a strike was launched in National Education for the day of Thursday concerning the health protocol imposed in schools, the Minister of Transformation and Public Service assured that “we must to adjust”. “Since the start of this crisis, the President of the Republic has always said: ‘We may not always be perfect, but count on us to correct the situation’. So yes, that means that the protocols have been adjusted “, she explained.
“We are in a particular period, the virus itself is evolving. So what has been at stake in the government for two years now is a continuous dialogue with teachers”, further assured Amélie de Montchalin. “The strike is a right and I believe in social dialogue which brings solutions. And in the movements of teachers today, other things are mixed up such as purchasing power”, further raised the minister. “So have we resolved everything? No. But are we committed? Yes,” she said.
Finally, she recognized that we must go even further in terms of commitments to teachers. “Politics is about composure, method, dialogue. So if we have to continue the dialogue, we continue. We still have a lot of work to do and we are not naive about the state of fatigue and of weariness of those who are at the front, on the front line. We talk a lot about caregivers but the teachers mobilized during confinement, then during deconfinement and this protocol is also particularly trying. So we will continue to act with lucidity.