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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.

Published: 20 January 2024 09:30 CET

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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Macron warns of ‘civil war’ if far right or hard left win election

French politics were plunged into turmoil when Macron called snap legislative elections after his centrist party was trounced by the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) in a European vote earlier this month.

Weekend polls suggested the RN would win 35-36 percent in the first round on Sunday, ahead of a left-wing alliance on 27-29.5 percent and Macron’s centrists in third on 19.5-22 percent.

A second round of voting will follow on July 7th in constituencies where no candidate takes more than 50 percent in the first round.

Speaking on the podcast Generation Do It Yourself, Macron, 46, denounced both the RN as well as the hard-left France Unbowed party.

He said the far-right “divides and pushes towards civil war”, while the hard-left La France Insoumise, which is part of the Nouveau Front Populaire alliance, proposes “a form of communitarianism”, adding that “civil war follows on from that, too”.

Reacting to Macron’s comments, far-right leader Jordan Bardella told French news outlet M6: “A President of the Republic should not say that. I want to re-establish security for all French people.”

Bardella, the RN’s 28-year-old president, earlier Monday said his party was ready to govern as he pledged to curb immigration and tackle cost-of-living issues.

“In three words: we are ready,” Bardella told a news conference as he unveiled the RN’s programme.

READ ALSO What would a far-right prime minister mean for foreigners in France?

Bardella has urged voters to give the eurosceptic party an outright majority to allow it to implement its anti-immigration, law-and-order programme.

“Seven long years of Macronism has weakened the country,” he said, vowing to boost purchasing power, “restore order” and change the law to make it easier to deport foreigners convicted of crimes.

He reiterated plans to tighten borders and make it harder for children born in France to foreign parents to gain citizenship.

Bardella added that the RN would focus on “realistic” measures to curb inflation, primarily by cutting energy taxes.

He also promised a disciplinary ‘big bang’ in schools, including a ban on mobile phones and trialling the introduction of school uniforms, a proposal previously put forward by Macron.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal of Macron’s Renaissance party poured scorn on the RN’s economic programme, telling Europe 1 radio the country was “headed straight for disaster” in the event of an RN victory.

On Tuesday, Attal will go head-to-head with Bardella and the leftist Manuel Bompard in a TV debate.

On foreign policy, Bardella said the RN opposed sending French troops and long-range missiles to Ukraine – as mooted by Macron – but would continue to provide logistical and material support.

He added that his party, which had close ties to Russia before its invasion of Ukraine, would be “extremely vigilant” in the face of Moscow’s attempts to interfere in French affairs.

Macron insisted that France would continue to support Ukraine over the long term as he met with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

“We will continue to mobilise to respond to Ukraine’s immediate needs,” he said alongside Stoltenberg at the Elysee Palace.

The election is shaping up as a showdown between the RN and the leftist Nouveau Front Populaire, which is dominated by the hard-left La France Insoumise.

Bardella claimed the RN, which mainstream parties have in the past united to block, was now the “patriotic and republican” choice faced with what he alleged was the anti-Semitism of Mélenchon’s party.

La France Insoumise, which opposes Israel’s war in Gaza and refused to label the October 7th Hamas attacks as ‘terrorism’, denies the charges of anti-Semitism.

In calling an election in just three weeks Macron hoped to trip up his opponents and catch them unprepared.

But analysts have warned the move could backfire if the deeply unpopular president is forced to share power with a prime minister from an opposing party.

RN powerhouse Marine Le Pen, who is bidding to succeed Macron as president, has called on him to step aside if he loses control of parliament.

Macron has insisted he will not resign before the end of his second term in 2027 but has vowed to heed voters’ concerns.

Speaking on Monday, Macron once again defended his choice to call snap elections.

“It’s very hard. I’m aware of it, and a lot of people are angry with me,” he said on the podcast. “But I did it because there is nothing greater and fairer in a democracy than trust in the people.”

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