Temperatures across France have climbed above 30C this week as an early summer heatwave has baked the country, raising concerns among parents about conditions inside classrooms. So can you just keep your child at home?
The short answer is no.
While schools have been trying to adapt, in some cases moving lessons into corridors or shaded areas, French law does not currently allow parents to simply keep children home because of the heat.
Under Article L131-8 of the French Education Code, school attendance is compulsory and high temperatures are not listed as a valid reason for absence.
This means parents cannot withdraw children from school on their own initiative during a heatwave. However, if a child becomes ill due to the heat, parents can see a doctor and obtain a medical certificate to justify the absence.
A survey published on Thursday this week by one of the main secondary teacher unions found that 77.6 percent of collèges and lycées (middle school and high school) recorded classroom temperatures above 30C since the start of the week.
A 2019 report from the National Observatory on Safety and Accessibility in Schools noted that “there is no regulatory threshold for maximum or minimum temperatures triggering the suspension of classes or school closures”. But the report warned that sitting in classrooms in temperatures above 30C presents genuine health risks for pupils and staff. The observatory has since been dissolved, and rules have not changed.
The French Education Ministry said that any school closures linked to the heat should remain “exceptional and proportionate”.
In Soustons, in southwestern France, a primary school decided, in coordination with local authorities, to close for the remainder of the week. Temperatures of up to 53C were recorded in the school’s corridors.
Some schools have also introduced their own temporary measures. In the Landes département in southwest France, one nursery school allowed parents to pick up their children at 2:00 pm on the hottest days of the week.
