School return: what measures are being taken to improve students’ daily lives?

Schoolchildren in Nice resumed classes on Tuesday, September 1st, 2026. Greening of recreation areas, increased surveillance system, air conditioning in schools: the municipality of Éric Ciotti has allocated nearly 25 million euros to improve the daily lives of students.

It was back to school for 28,178 schoolchildren in Nice on September 1st. Distributed across 1,354 classes throughout the city, students saw the municipality decide to implement measures to improve their daily lives. The mayor of Nice, Éric Ciotti, therefore took the initiative to visit kindergarten and primary schools to see the work already completed.

At Ronchèse primary school, 13 Rue Lamartine, not far from Avenue Jean-Médecin, the mayor of the city had lunch with students. The special feature being the dining hall completely air-conditioned. Whether it was the working staff or the students, everyone was delighted and could enjoy the meal prepared by the school’s cook affectionately nicknamed “Master Ratatouille.”

Adaptability to extreme heat

This measure is particularly comfortable after the stifling heat that reigns outside at the end of summer. Adaptation to the climate challenge is indeed a central focus of local school policy. To do this, the mayor decided to air-condition the schools. During the summer of 2026, 17 schools were air-conditioned, including this one, and 30 schools will be by December 2026. This air-conditioned park system cost the city 2.9 million euros.

Alongside air conditioning, cool zones have been set up in five playgrounds. The municipality having invested 197,300 euros for this greening, the work carried out this summer is only limited. The placement of wood chips and stripping of the asphalt are minimal initiatives. It is only this autumn that the town hall will plant trees and shrubs so that rooting is optimal.

Beyond these comfort measures, the objective is obviously to provide students with an optimal environment to encourage them to come and study there; which is why the city decided to allocate over 1.2 million euros for standard renovation projects in about thirty schools out of the 150 that Nice has. The opening of Robert-Badinter primary school, 120 Route de Turin, was in turn the most substantial material measure and currently allows two classes of kindergarteners and two elementary classes to be accommodated. Its construction was, however, decided during the term of the former mayor, Christian Estrosi.

Enhanced security for students

The second major component of these changes concerns the safety and social protection of students. To protect children against any form of abuse, the city voted on an action plan on June 19, 2026 in municipal council.

So, a reporting channel is created so that families and staff can report suspicious behavior. This is done through the Family Portal, QR codes in front of schools, as well as 04 97 13 37 00. A territorial child rights officer will also be put in place to collect and process these alerts.

Thirty-nine ASVP agents (Public Road Surveillance Agents), unarmed, and 228 “traffic grandmas and grandpas” are also assigned to 41 schools to secure pedestrian crossings during peak hours. This physical protection is also increased by alert buttons on call posts placed in front of schools, directly connected to the Urban Supervision Center.

The highlight, the uniform anti-intrusion signal is now being considered. To unify this alarm, two schools are testing it: Bois-de-Boulogne and Digue-des-Français, before it can be extended to the others.