Teachers strike over 4,018 job cuts in France

ISTANBUL

Primary and secondary school teachers in France have called a strike for Tuesday over 4,018 job cuts, most of them in public schools.

“It’s a catastrophe,” Christophe Gruson, national secretary of SNALC labor union, told broadcaster BFM on Monday, noting that nearly 1,900 cuts affect public nursery and elementary schools.

“We already lost 470 primary school positions last year. It’s getting worse,” he added.

The cuts follow a projected 1.9% drop in primary school enrollment in 2026, equivalent to 116,800 fewer pupils.

“Where is the coherence?” Gruson said, citing Education Minister Edouard Geffray’s call to limit class closures and reduce class sizes.

Aurelie Gagnier, co-secretary of FSU-Snuipp, France’s main primary school teachers’ union, told BFM that larger classes and more mixed-level teaching are inevitable.

France has the highest average primary class size among EU-OECD countries, with 22 pupils compared to an average of 19, according to Service-Public.fr.

“How many classes will close next school year?” Gagnier asked, noting that 2,000 closures were recorded last year.

Unions fear widespread closures as positions are cut, said Francois Van Der Goten, an FSU-Snuipp representative.

The rectorate said figures remain under discussion and “nothing is decided.”

Gruson said the cuts are also affecting academies already facing teacher shortages.

“There is no coherence in the Education Ministry policy. Children are the first to pay the price,” he said.