French schools adapt to heatwaves: new timetables, longer holidays under debate
As heatwaves become more frequent, French schools are adjusting schedules and considering longer summer breaks, but parents and teachers highlight social challenges.
Faced with increasingly intense heatwaves, many schools in France have adjusted their timetables, including early dismissals and localized changes to exam schedules. Last year, nearly 2,000 schools closed before the official summer break. Climate change is making heatwaves more common, prompting calls for permanent changes to the academic calendar.
Southern European countries like Spain and Italy have already begun adapting. France's summer holiday lasts 56 days, compared to 77 in Spain and 97 in Italy. However, longer breaks create difficulties for working parents who cannot provide full-time activities for their children. Over 76,000 people signed a petition against extending holidays, arguing it would penalize children of working parents.
Some French schools have experimented with earlier start times and shorter lunch breaks to avoid afternoon heat, but parents found it hard to adjust. Another proposal is a split day: morning in-person classes and afternoon remote learning. However, two-thirds of French school buildings date from before 1970 and lack air conditioning, making them ill-suited to high temperatures.
Teachers stress the urgent need to improve school infrastructure and establish clear protocols for heatwaves. In Spain, teacher strikes demanded funding for building upgrades. The debate in France continues, balancing heat mitigation with social inequality concerns.
