First week, first textbook case. Barely promoted to National Education, “AOC” is already on the defensive. Forced to justify the registration of her three sons at the Stanislas school, a prestigious private establishment in the beautiful districts of the capital. Choice motivated by “lots of hours not seriously replaced” in the public, she explained initially. Comments experienced as a provocation by the unions, to the point that the minister immediately beat her guilt, saying she “regretted” having “could have hurt certain teachers”.
Strong reactions from the oppositions
Wasted effort, because the second salvo did not take long: Sunday evening, the newspaper Release undermined the minister’s defense, contradicted by several testimonies. These deny the alleged absence of teachers and underline the desire of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra to make the eldest of the siblings skip a class. Revelations which the oppositions did not fail to seize upon to attack the minister.
“It’s a lie that disqualifies her from continuing to hold this position,” said rebellious Manuel Bompard on franceinfo, while the communist Fabien Roussel estimated on the social network Analysis shared on Radio J by the environmentalist deputy Benjamin Lucas, for whom the minister “lied”. “She must leave” in order to “send a signal of appeasement to the educational community which is not doing well,” he said.
The days pass and Ms. Oudéa-Castera’s lies accumulate.
Teachers are not doormats for her to wipe her feet on.
It’s time to resign, Madam Minister. https://t.co/yChFl6ZD4F
— Fabien Roussel (@Fabien_Roussel) January 15, 2024
At the other end of the political spectrum, the National Rally deputy Julien Odoul also unleashed himself on LCI against these “ministers who blithely lie like Amélie Oudéa-Castéra”, judging that she is already “discredited” and “that ‘she should leave.’ His colleague Jean-Philippe Tanguy insisted on BFMTV and RMC: “If the minister lied, I don’t see how she can continue her public action.”
“Personal attacks”
“I do not want to go any further into the area of personal life and private life. There are attacks to which I have tried to respond with as much sincerity as possible. We must close this chapter of personal attacks and personal life”, replied the minister, also responsible for youth and sports, after a visit to the Olympic village of Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis).
But the minister’s rare supporters struggled to hide their embarrassment, like the government spokesperson, Prisca Thévenot, who said on France Inter: “I don’t know if she lied, I’m just saying that she explained why her son was educated in the private sector.” Just like the leader of the Renaissance deputies, Sylvain Maillard, who judged on Sud Radio that Amélie Oudéa-Castéra “was very clear” in explaining “why she wanted to change” from public to private.
Meeting with education unions
It is in this context that she must begin meeting the teaching unions on Monday at midday, to discuss the priorities of her ministry, including undoubtedly the subject of absenteeism and replacements. A contact already under the threat of strikes announced for January 25 and February 1. This controversy thwarts the plans of the executive, less than a week after a reshuffle supposed to give it new life embodied by Gabriel Attal. Especially since the former head of Education, he assured that he would be the “guarantor” of the “absolute priority” given to school.
The affair is also a stone in the shoe of Emmanuel Macron, who considers that the subject “is part of the reserved domain of the president”, and must specify Tuesday evening during a press conference how he intends to carry out the ” rearmament” of the country, which could involve announcements in terms of education.