Xavier Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-France region, was outraged this Sunday, December 1 on social networks following the ban on the Advent calendar in schools in Aisne.
“Doesn't National Education have other priorities than attacking school Advent calendars and our traditions?!”, the president of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand on X.
His indignation follows the controversy surrounding the ban on Advent calendars in schools in Aisne. Indeed, certain school leaders in the department were called to order by National Education after proposing work around the Advent calendar in their classes.
The latter received an email from the inspection which “reminds that Advent is a religious process”.
As a reminder, Article 10 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 on secularism in schools stipulates that “No one should be worried about their opinions, even religious ones, provided that their manifestation does not disturb public order established by law.”
“We also have a culture to preserve”
Xavier Bertrand is not the only one to be outraged by this situation. The senator from Aisne, Pierre-Jean Verzelen, also expressed his dissatisfaction with the Minister of Education, Anne Genetet, during an exclusive JDD interview. For him, this measure “calls into question the freedom of teaching of school teachers”.
“The Advent calendar has become part of our habits, in society, it even has a very commercial twist. In schools, it is seen as an educational tool,” he decried.
“We are a secular state, we are a Republic, but we also have a culture to preserve. Whatever some say, our society has been based on Christian values for 2,000 years, it is the history of our country that National Education wants to put aside,” he concluded.
