This unique and costly advantage for the State that school directors in Paris will lose

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This system only exists in Paris itself but a recommendation from the Court of Auditors could put an end to it. As reported The Worlda summary statement published on November 25, 2024 and addressed to the Ministry of National Education points out the “irregular system” from which public school principals of the capital. They benefit from the teaching discharge regime which is more favorable than in other establishments in France.

Parisian exception

In addition to placing “a significant budgetary burden on the ministry”, this exception is “a break of tie vis-à-vis other municipalities,” underlines the financial jurisdiction.

In France, the education code indicates that a teacher performing the functions of school director is responsible for teaching unless the establishment has more than twelve classes. In these cases, they are discharged. In Paris, they are relieved as soon as the school has more than five classes.

Parisian school principals have enjoyed this privilege for more than 42 years, recalls The World. Until then, the town hall employed “management assistants” to teach and thus relieve the directors. An agreement signed in 1982 between the City of Paris and the Ministry of National Education anchored the system for the State to assign teachers to replace discharged directors. “This conventional system was regularly renewed until 2019,” notes the Court of Auditors. “On two occasions, in 2007 and 2018, this mechanism was the subject of criticism from the regional chamber of accounts (CRC) of Île-de-France. » According to this, the replacement cost was close to 14 million euros in 2005 for nearly 370 full-time jobs. From 2013 to 2016, there were 18.6 million euros for 376 jobs.

No legal basis

In 2017, the City of Paris wanted to reduce its contribution without modifying the exemption regime before ceasing all payments two years later. The State took over to financially support these costs. According to the Court of Auditors, the State therefore financed up to 73 million euros these discharges, without compensation from the City (and 116 million euros taking into account compulsory payments for the civil servants' pension plan).

This Parisian exception is also devoid of legal basis.

In its interim summary, the Court of Auditors therefore asks to “put an end to the exceptional regime of discharges from service of Parisian school directors as quickly as possible”.

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