At school, the commemoration of November 11 is making waves among certain unions

“We do not want to prepare our students to accept war as an inevitable horizon, nor do we want to teach them to consider military sacrifice as a value in itself. » In a document obtained by AFP, the union sections of an Ile-de-France college, who prefer not to be identified, are concerned about the contours of the commemoration, at school, of the Armistice of November 11, 1918. This ceremony participates "in the introduction of a culture of war at school", they continue in a motion.

A circular published at the beginning of July establishes an annual ceremony “of tribute to all those who died for France” for students from CM1 to final year, in the four days preceding or following November 11. This commemoration must take place within the premises of the establishments and be based on texts, songs or work prepared in progress, before a time of contemplation, according to the guide posted online by the ministry. On Monday, the Minister of National Education, Edouard Geffray, was surprised by the controversy, deeming it “regrettable”.

“On November 11, we celebrate victory and peace (...) Transmitting this memory to our students means making them understand the price of peace and the courage of those who defended our freedom. »

Edouard Geffray, Minister of National Education to the press

Among the sensitive points for opponents of this ceremony: the fact that soldiers or elected officials can participate, as well as a ceremonial including the national anthem and recommending the laying of wreaths, as well as the reading of the “call of the dead”. The leading middle and high school union, the Snes-FSU sees it as an attempt to “recruit” young people and a “device promoting war”.

“A risk of exploitation”

The CGT Educ'action recalls that young people already participate “freely” in ceremonies in their municipality. “Making the ritual obligatory means transforming the memory into an exercise of obedience,” asserts this union. “In fact, elected officials from the center to the extreme right are already seeking to invite themselves to these ceremonies for the purposes of political display a few months before the presidential elections,” estimates, for its part, SUD Education, which fears “a risk of exploitation”.

In favor of this commemoration, Frédéric Meunier, head of establishment at Condorcet College in Paris, wondered at the start of the school year, with his teams, about the form to be given to this tribute which will be held Tuesday morning in the main courtyard of his establishment. “There is no bugle, no bell tolls,” this former history and geography professor told AFP. He drew a red line: no “soldiers at attention” in the establishment. The thirty-minute ceremony will only take place in the presence of class delegates, the district mayor and parents of students.

The Association of History and Geography Teachers (APHG) was concerned, from the start of the school year, about the timetable for this measure. “In a time saturated with minutes of silence and tributes, a more gradual and more concerted implementation would have been preferable,” she underlined in a press release. She recommended being vigilant about the “school climate” and refusing “any presence of political representatives, a few months before a presidential election which is already a cause of tension”.