-
Taxi drivers in Toulouse stage ‘snail’ protests against sector deregulation
Travel towards the airport or main train station is set to be affected by
-
Renault unveils hi-tech medical van concept that can serve French medical deserts
New vehicle aims to provide medical services in areas lacking doctors, equipped with advanced diagnostic tools
-
France’s top literary prize 2024 awarded to author Kamel Daoud
The Prix Goncourt is widely seen as France’s version of the Nobel prize for literature
France doubles free school breakfasts and €1 meals
Free school breakfasts and canteen lunches costing just €1 are to be rolled out to 200,000 pupils across France this year, almost double the number who received them last year, the government has said.
In 2019, 110,000 maternelle (reception) and primary school pupils in underprivileged areas received the meals. The government is aiming for the scheme to cover almost twice that this year.
In 2020, the budget for the free breakfast scheme will be €12 million - twice that of 2019.
To qualify, schools must be located in an eligible area - including in a priority education area (une zone REP (réseau d'éducation prioritaire), or in a given rural area.
The “canteen meals for €1” scheme will also be extended to maternelle pupils, with a budget of €5 million.
The scheme means the State will help to pay for school canteen lunchtime meals, if the commune helps out by putting a three-tier payment system in place - with the lowest tier costing a maximum of €1 per meal per child.
The changes were confirmed in a press release from national education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer and junior health minister Christelle Dubos.
They said: “[We celebrate] the good results from putting these measures in place in 2019”, and said they intended for “40,000 [more] pupils to benefit [from €1 canteen lunches specifically] in 2020”.
Stay informed:
Sign up to our free weekly e-newsletter
Subscribe to access all our online articles and receive our printed monthly newspaper The Connexion at your home. News analysis, features and practical help for English-speakers in France