News Digest: Immigration Bill Rejected, French School Uniform Trial & Americans in France FAQs

We’ve been reporting on France’s hotly debated new Immigration Bill over the past weeks, but yesterday (December 11^th) saw a surprise twist in the proceedings. Debates were supposed to begin on the bill in the Assemblée Nationale, but instead, a motion put forward by the Green party to reject the bill entirely was voted in with 270 votes (265 are required to pass a motion).

Effectively, this stopped the debates in their tracks and led French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin to offer his resignation. However, it seems that President Macron is not going to give up that easily, and as of last night, he had refused Darmanin’s resignation offer and instead instructed his government to seek another way forward with the bill.

It’s too early to know what Macron’s next step will be, but you can read the full story here, and we’ll keep you updated as we find out more.

France’s education minister announced this week a new trial that will introduce school uniforms for students at primary schools, secondary schools, and lycées (high schools) in some regions of France. The pilot scheme will start from September 2024 and involves schools in the Allier and Alpes-Maritimes departments, as well as the cities of Tourcoing, Reims, Nice, Perpignan, Lyon, and Grenoble, and other schools in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Participating schools will issue uniforms to families, including five polo shirts, two pairs of trousers, and two jumpers, and the cost (€200) will be covered by the Education Ministry and the local authorities.  The idea of introducing uniforms seems to divide opinion in France, but the pilot scheme aims to determine whether a mandatory school uniform will help to iron out inequalities and ease peer pressure and bullying.

If you have school-aged children in one of the above areas, your school will be able to provide more details of the changes as they are brought into action next year.