The parents of the Emile Zola nursery school, located in Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis), voted Thursday to move some classes from the establishment at the end of April, located in the middle of a district undermined by the drug trafficking.
“The parents of students from the Emile Zola nursery school expressed themselves: the proposal to transfer the 4 classes as soon as the spring holidays were mainly retained,” wrote the socialist mayor of the city north of Paris Karim Bouamrane on X. The mayor detailed the results: “100 for a transfer for the month of April / 97 for a transfer for the month of September”.
Parents of students met by AFP Thursday afternoon reflected this contrast of opinions.
“We observe the queues of people who come to buy narcotics, the children wonder. It is true that we have the impression that the school is landlocked in the middle of drug trafficking which leaves room for insecurity, “said Sarah Diallo, 42 -year -old shopping manager, accompanied by her two children in small and large section.
“Parents of students sounded the alarm, you have to answer it,” she adds, saying to herself in favor of moving the classes.
“We flee the problem”
“How can a municipality move a school because of individuals that must be combated together?” If we close the school, what does that become of tomorrow? “Asked Yahya Diarrassouba, saying to herself” shocked “.
“We flee the problem, we move the problem. What is most important? It is the future of our children, ”insists the 51 -year -old father who voted against the rapid trip of the school.
The appendix to the nursery school, which brings together four classes and 60 students, is located in the Elizabeth passage in Saint-Ouen, 300 meters from the ring road.
Playful cries of children escape from the playground, invisible since the passage.
The wall that surrounds the school is surmounted by high fees and covered with street art. Also written at the “Arago” and “24/24” painting bomb, the supposed opening hours of the deal point.
Organized by the municipality, the citizen vote intervened after the jet in January of a nitrogen oxide cylinder in a school window. Since May 2024, small drug sachets have also been found three times in the playground.
The classes concerned should be transferred a few hundred meters, to the premises of the early childhood relay and within a school group.
“Last sign of a public service”
“What do the dealers do when they are going on?” They swing their sachets everywhere “, deplored Wednesday to AFP the mayor PS Karim Bouamrane, recalling that his” responsibility is to put the means to bring security and for children, and for parents “.
“Now, I count on the competent authorities who have committed to the highest level (…) so that this annex can welcome children again in a secure environment,” wrote Mr. Bouamrane on Thursday evening, quoting Elisabeth Borne and Bruno Retailleau.
“The police and the state do not retreat,” the Paris police prefect of Paris Laurent Nuñez said on BFMTV.
“We will continue to tackle this deal point as we do. At the moment, there is a police presence permanently (…) This is a point of deal that we are not going to let go, “he said, noting that the number of deal points had gone from seven to three since 2020 in Saint-Ouen.
Thursday morning on France 2, the Minister of National Education hammered that “the school will never back up against violence”. “We talked about it with Bruno Retailleau (Minister of the Interior, Editor’s note). Obviously, the government is determined to restore a safe environment for this school “even if” classes can move temporarily “.
“Our goal is that the school can reinstall itself,” said Borne.
For his part, the rebellious deputy Eric Coquerel had estimated that “the school, at this place, was the last sign of a public service, of a civic life. (…) The closing school, that really means that you leave a clear way to traffic”.
Faced with criticism, the mayor of Saint-Ouen assures that in the event of a move, “a cultural association of adults will settle down (in these premises), so there will be no decline in public service”. “Every square meters will be occupied by public power,” says Karim Bouamrane.
