The SNPDEN-Unsa, the leading union of school heads, denounced on Friday, November 13, the low number of blocked high schools reported each day by the Ministry of National Education since the return from the All Saints' holidays. This tally, it argues, does not reflect the reality experienced on the ground.
In the Île-de-France region, the union estimates that 60 to 75 high schools remained affected last week, including 21 in Paris.
According to the ministry, only 0.3% of high schools were blocked on Friday morning, or about ten establishments out of the roughly 3,700 in France.
The union considers this figure understated since classes resumed. It estimates that between 150 and 200 establishments would still not be able to operate normally since the return from the autumn holidays.
The SNPDEN-Unsa is calling for the tally to include all high schools where some students are prevented from entering, and not only establishments whose access is completely closed.
The previous week, the figures released hovered around forty high schools a day, with a peak of 81 blocked establishments on the national day of mobilization on November 5.
This level was also put forward by the Union syndicale lycéenne (USL) and by the Snes-FSU, the leading union for middle and high schools.
Yet, according to the SNPDEN-Unsa, no fewer than 1,000 establishments were then directly affected.
The gap concerns the definition used to count affected high schools: the union is asking that establishments that are partially inaccessible or have switched to remote learning be taken into account, and not only those that are completely blocked.