More than 200 civil servants in France’s education sector have vowed resistance to the hard-right National Rally (RN) ahead of upcoming snap general elections.
“In conscience and responsibility, we will not obey,” they said on June 14.
They warned that the hard-right’s potential ascension to power in France could undermine the “Republican values” that make up part of France’s educational framework.
“On July 8 [following French elections], the far-right may be in power. Tomorrow, perhaps, our next minister from its ranks will demand that our managers apply directives, implement policies or organise teaching in opposition to the republican values that underpin our professions and justify our commitments,” they said.
“We will not accept this. In all conscience and responsibility, we will not obey,” they added.
“Because we serve the State, we declare today that none of us will apply measures that contravene the values of the Republic,” the civil servants warned.
Their declaration was part of a broader wave of concern within the European Union regarding the rise of the right-wing in the bloc’s politics. In the Netherlands, Dutch civil servants have expressed concern over the new right-wing government led by Geert Wilders.
Civil servants in the Netherlands reportedly fear job cuts and policy changes in directions they do not want as the country braces for new leadership featuring the hard-right Freedom Party (PVV). https://t.co/NAvOR6KJg1
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) June 11, 2024
In addition to the government officials, some major trade unions within French schools also vowed disobedience.
In an open letter dated June 11, unions called on their colleagues to “mobilise en masse to prevent the extreme right from coming to power”.
“In contrast to the extreme right’s vision for schools, we reiterate our attachment to the public, secular, free and compulsory school system,” they wrote.
Amid rising tensions, the RN has made attempts to alleviate fears among senior civil servants. The party has retracted proposals seen as akin to the American spoils system, in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters.
The RN has been firm in expressing its expectations of “loyalty” from French civil servants.
“What we expect of the civil service is what it does on a daily basis, its loyalty. Senior civil servants are loyal to the government, it’s in their genes and it’s the strength of the senior civil service,” said a former administrative official and campaigning member for RN, Christophe Bay.
