Teachers’ union SNE has launched a protest campaign titled ‘NETesou’ (‘Not like this’), citing widespread exhaustion and burnout among educators. The campaign involves distributing pins with an inverted smiley face and stickers bearing the slogan for members and dissatisfied teachers to display.
SNE President Patrick Remakel stated that the current situation in schools is unsustainable. “Teachers are fed up, tired, and some even burned out”, he said.
Remakel pointed to increasing classroom disruptions and violence, noting that police intervention has become regular. He argued that schools lack sufficient specialised staff to support teachers with challenging students or that such personnel are often misallocated. In some cases, he suggested, children require treatment outside the school environment.
Compounding this “very complicated” situation, teachers now face the implementation of Project Alpha, a reform introducing French literacy classes. While not opposed in principle, the SNE insists the project must not proceed in its current form. Remakel criticised the lack of evidence regarding its long-term impact on students’ language proficiency in secondary school.
He further warned that Project Alpha would exacerbate existing organisational strains, given acute shortages of both teachers and classrooms. Despite the bill’s adoption by a large parliamentary majority, the union continues to hope for amendments before implementation.
