Published on 04/01/2025 22:42
Reading time: 1min – video: 2min
Claude Allègre: the former Minister of Education died at the age of 87
Claude Allègre, former Minister of National Education at the end of the 1990s in the government of Lionel Jospin, died on Saturday January 4 at the age of 87. He had marked the spirits for his often clear-cut positions.
(France 2)
Claude Allègre, former Minister of National Education at the end of the 1990s in the government of Lionel Jospin, died on Saturday January 4 at the age of 87. He had marked the spirits for his often clear-cut positions.
Claude Allègre was a great scientist, director of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, he was also the personal friend of Lionel Jospin. The latter appointed him in 1997 as head of the Ministry of National Education. On Rue de Grenelle, Claude Allègre left the image of a minister who did not hesitate to shake up institutions and teachers. He said about teacher absenteeism: “12% absence is not admissible. I don’t see why the private sector would have 4% absence on average and why the public would have 12% absence”. The day after his declaration, he recognized an error in the figures. He will commit other blunders like June 24, 1997, when he confided to a journalist from Le Monde his desire to “degrease the mammoth”.
The minister's little phrase and gaffes infuriate teachers. Many of them take to the streets. The minister nevertheless succeeded in reforming research by allowing scientists to create start-ups and file patents. In 2000, he was forced to resign and returned to his scientific research.
Watch the full report in the video above.
