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SCHOOLS

Blue pullover with grey trousers to become France’s school fashion

If the French government has its way, children could soon be going to school in uniform blue pullovers and grey trousers as part of President Emmanuel Macron's campaign to make education more equal and orderly.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and French Minister of Education, Sports, and Olympic Games Amelie Oudea-Castera speak to pupils during a visit to Saint-Exupery College, north west of Paris
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and French Minister of Education, Sports, and Olympic Games Amelie Oudea-Castera speak to pupils during a visit to Saint-Exupery College, north west of Paris, on January 12, 2024. New government plans could soon see French children going to school in uniform rather than their own clothes. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / POOL / AFP)

A government source on Friday confirmed to AFP the typical uniform that authorities want to see used in a new experiment that Macron announced this week as part of his effort to instil national pride and counter the growing popularity of the far-right.

Uniforms have long been a par of daily life for children in Britain, Japan, much of the United States and other countries. But they have long been resisted in France and other European countries. 

READ ALSO: Why is school uniform controversial in France

About 100 French schools will experiment with the uniform that could then become compulsory  nationwide from 2026.

Macron, who also wants all children to learn France’s national anthem “La Marseillaise”, said that uniforms “erase inequality between families and at the same time create conditions for respect”.

Le Figaro newspaper reported that the government wanted children to wear a white or grey polo shirt, blue pullover and grey trousers. This was confirmed to AFP by a government source.

Local authorities will, with some conditions, be able to choose their own uniforms, but the government has proposed its colours.

READ ALSO: PODCAST: Why French schools don’t have uniforms and rural France turns to the power of the sun

According to Le Figaro, half the cost of each child’s uniform will come from public money. 

A government guide on the proposed uniform, drawn up last month, emphasised the need to create a more equal and respectful atmosphere in schools.

It said the uniform would also be “a way to give value to the image of the school”. 

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POLITICS

New Caledonia airport to reopen Monday, curfew reduced: authorities

New Caledonia's main international airport will reopen from Monday after being shut last month during a spate of deadly unrest, the high commission in the French Pacific territory said, adding a curfew would also be reduced.

New Caledonia airport to reopen Monday, curfew reduced: authorities

The commission said Sunday that it had “decided to reopen the airport during the day” and to “push back to 8:00 pm (from 6:00 pm) the start of the curfew as of Monday”.

The measures had been introduced after violence broke out on May 13 over a controversial voting reform that would have allowed long-term residents to participate in local polls.

The archipelago’s Indigenous Kanaks feared the move would dilute their vote, putting hopes for eventually winning independence definitively out of reach.

READ ALSO: Explained: What’s behind the violence on French island of New Caledonia?

Barricades, skirmishes with the police and looting left nine dead and hundreds injured, and inflicted hundreds of millions of euros in damage.

The full resumption of flights at Tontouta airport was made possible by the reopening of an expressway linking it to the capital Noumea that had been blocked by demonstrators, the commission said.

Previously the airport was only handling a small number of flights with special exemptions.

Meanwhile, the curfew, which runs until 6:00 am, was reduced “in light of the improvement in the situation and in order to facilitate the gradual return to normal life”, the commission added.

French President Emmanuel Macron had announced on Wednesday that the voting reform that touched off the unrest would be “suspended” in light of snap parliamentary polls.

Instead he aimed to “give full voice to local dialogue and the restoration of order”, he told reporters.

Although approved by both France’s National Assembly and Senate, the reform had been waiting on a constitutional congress of both houses to become part of the basic law.

Caledonian pro-independence movements had already considered reform dead given Macron’s call for snap elections.

“This should be a time for rebuilding peace and social ties,” the Kanak Liberation Party (Palika) said Wednesday before the announcement.

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