Public life always holds surprises. Thus, Frédérique Vidal, the Minister of Higher Education and Research, was highly appreciated when she was the rector of the Nice Academy before taking on her new responsibilities in the government.
However, if by chance she decided to return to Valrose for the next academic year, she might not be welcomed with open arms…
Nothing personal, of course.
But an interview she gave in mid-July, along with Jean-Michel Blanquer, her colleague from the National Education Department, somewhat annoyed the staff she was responsible for just a year ago.
No doubt it was the effect of the World Cup. In any case, a masterful sidestep concerning the future of the twenty-six academies spread across the territory.
Indeed, following the territorial reform carried out under the previous presidency, François Hollande’s team had considered equalizing the number of academies with that of the regions. That would be thirteen, or half the current number. For our southeastern quarter, this meant the absorption of Nice by Marseille! Very quickly, yellow cards started raining, unions began mobilizing, and Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, then in charge of the file, blew the whistle, prudently postponing the issue.
Frédérique Vidal thus found the hot potato on her ministry desk. At the beginning of the year, everyone thought this “merger” had fizzled out since Jean-Michel Blanquer stated during his visit to Nice that “the issue is not currently on the table.”
But it seems it has become relevant now, as in the interview with a press agency specializing in education, he announced that the region-academy alignment would be effective for the 2021 school year at the latest. A little bombshell in the middle of summer…
While Nice, the 5th largest city in France, still hopes for an appellate court to spare its residents (and lawyers) from running to the nearby, friendly yet rival, large city to pursue their cases… But now there are plans to strip it of its academy with a stroke of a pen!
Well, that is the minister’s intention. His intervention emerged in the summer when the staff and unions are on vacation…
We bet the match is not over and there will be extra time…
As for Ms. Vidal, she finds herself somewhat playing on both teams simultaneously, wearing both the Nice and governmental jerseys… Uncomfortable.
Jean-Marie Chevallier, Les Petites Affiches
