Since Mediapart revealed that Jean-Michel Blanquer was in Ibiza when discussing the new health protocol for schools, the minister is under fire from critics. This Tuesday, January 18 in the morning of CNews, Gabriel Attal tried to put out the fire.
A minister in turmoil. For several weeks, the Omicron variant has hit France hard with record contamination rates. According to a study by the health authorities, children at school are very poorly vaccinated and are the spreaders of the epidemic. With massive screening, schools are under great pressure with health protocols that change regularly in order to “adapting to the epidemic” according to a member of the executive. On January 2, on the eve of the start of the school year, Jean-Michel Blanquer granted an interview to the Parisian in which he unveiled the new health protocol implemented in schools. According to Mediapart, the Minister of Education would have given this interview during his Christmas holidays for which he had granted himself a stay in Ibiza. Jean-Michel Blanquer would therefore have sent the health protocol while he was on vacation in the Balearic Islands.
A new controversy for the minister
“He was less than two hours from Paris and reachable at any time. He was in permanent contact with his teams, the ministers (…) whether he communicates from Paris or elsewhere does not change anything”, said an adviser to the Parisian. But obviously, this information does not pass to the teachers’ unions when they are again calling for a strike this Thursday, January 20. On the government side, we try to minimize while Jean-Michel Blanquer is under fire from critics. This Tuesday, January 18, Gabriel Attal was the guest of the morning of CNews and the government spokesperson seemed embarrassed when discussing his colleague’s vacation in Ibiza. “I am not here to lecture or judge the feelings of the French, especially in a context of weariness. The rules set by the government are that you have to be reachable at all times, at your task and there is no reason to think that this was not the case for Jean-Michel Blanquer“, he began.
The embarrassment of the spokesperson
Faced with the insistence of Laurence Ferrari, Gabriel Attal then added, embarrassed: “if the health protocol was presented late, it is because the recommendations of the High Council arrived on the evening of December 31. I don’t have to know where my colleagues go on vacation. The rule is clear: you must be easily repatriated to Paris if necessary. What matters is that the ministers are doing their job, but the situation is not easy. Clarity is needed”. Close the ban!