In the event of a power cut during the winter, the government detailed, Friday, December 2, the protocol which would be applied in the schools. Thus, in the targeted regions, establishments will be closed in the morning.
[Mis à jour le 2 décembre 2022 à 20h15] During a trip on Thursday, December 1, the Minister of National Education, Pap Ndiaye confirmed that schools would be closed in the event of a power cut during the winter. Thus, if load shedding measures were to be taken, they would take place between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. In this specific case, the reopening of schools would take place at midday. The government sent a circular to the prefectures on Thursday December 1 in order to prepare the departments for possible scheduled cuts, when the electricity network is under tension. The closure of schools is one of the measures that could be adopted. Friday, December 2, the teachers’ unions were received at the Ministry of National Education to find out more.
In the event of tension on the electricity network, power cuts of two hours could take place, by districts. About 60% of French inhabitants could be affected by these measures. Thereby, The Parisian details that, during the month of January, cuts will be planned over three time slots: from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. If they take place during the morning slots, schools will have to adapt with a return to class in the early afternoon, explained Pap Ndiaye. The regions affected by the load shedding will be informed the day before, which leaves parents little time to prepare. The government details that a school will not be able to suffer a power outage twice in the same day, but that it may experience up to three power cuts as long as the period of tension lasts.
If the power cuts occur in the early morning, the restarting of equipment in the canteen services should make it possible to ensure the catering of half-board students, estimated the government. “We are told that the canteens would be open despite the cuts between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. … Except that the staff who prepare food for the children do not start working at 10 a.m.,” retorted a member of the FCPE union to West France. If the restoration of the pupils could experience complications with a morning cut, the difficulties would also be present in the event of load shedding scheduled between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Extracurricular services will also be affected in the event of a power cut at the end of the day on the 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. slot.
The list of establishments affected by the closures will be known the day before load shedding and the power cut. Schools, colleges and high schools located in the relief zone will have to close and students will not be able to be accommodated. However, parents exercising priority professions, such as doctors or law enforcement officers, will be able, if they have no other solution, to entrust their children to school in “schools located near priority structures which will not suffer the load shedding”. The measure takes up the provisions tested and approved during the health crisis.