On Thursday, March 26, while thousands of staff and students were mobilizing against the Lecornu war budget, the National Assembly adopted a first reading of a bill (The Democrats) aimed at strengthening education and defense in middle and high schools.
This bill aims to establish a set of skills to be acquired by students, to ensure that “education in defense and global security” is effectively taught.
Speakers from operational or citizen reserves may be associated with these teachers, meaning unqualified individuals or volunteers whose main mission is to promote the role of the military to the population, not to provide critical education.
It is unacceptable that teaching positions are eliminated, teaching hours are reduced, and this type of education, which is actually government propaganda, is added, further complicating the work of staff. If implemented, this proposal would come at the expense of other disciplines.
It is unacceptable to turn schools into places of propaganda. It is very easy to shape young minds. Let us not forget historical precedents with youth indoctrination leading to needless sacrifices.
This bill comes in the context of a march towards war, increasing militarization of our schools, and the rearmament committed by President Macron, justifying the social war he is leading in France: the war budget is skyrocketing military spending while billions are pulled from public services. The rapporteur even acknowledges this connection: “Education in defense is nothing but the human and moral counterpart of budgetary investments made in favor of the military.”
There are established institutions where the “spirit of defense” is applied daily, such as military schools. The teachers are civilians and the supervision is military. Do we want this for all our schools? Let us loudly and clearly emphasize that school is a neutral place of emancipation, reflection, and freedom. Military propaganda has no place there.
The FNEC FP-FO, along with FSU, CGT Educ’action, and Sud Education, signed a letter to the minister asking him to withdraw the guide “Acclimatizing young people to defense,” and to end initiatives like “defense classes,” citizen rallies, and any project based on a partnership between school and the military. They will present these demands to the minister on April 2.
The FNEC FP-FO urges parliamentarians to vote “AGAINST” the bill on education in defense. They will support all initiatives taken by staff and their unions, parents, and students to prevent the indoctrination of students, reject military involvement in educational institutions and universities, and abandon defense classes and the new military service.
