France lockdown: Are adult schools still open?
We attend a small French language school for adults. Are classes starting as normal, and what forms do we need to go if so?
Reader question: We attend a small French language school, that in the spring we did online as best we could, for the first confinement.
However, now they are saying we are still attending classes starting back Monday, like normal. Is this correct? They say we just check the first box on the forms in order to attend classes everyday.
Yes, it is correct, if your school is teaching adults.
Unlike the first lockdown, schools, collèges, lyceés and educational establishments are now permitted to stay open - with all precautions in place, such as wearing masks.
The government permits "travel between home and place of work or universities (or institutions of higher education) for students or adult education centres and business trips that cannot be postponed".
As your language school has said to you, you will need an attestation exemption form, which is available to print and download here (in French). There is an English version available and also an easy-read version with pictograms. There is also a digital version available via the TousAntiCovid smartphone app.
On the form, you will need to tick the first box, which includes “déplacements entre le domicile et...un établissement d’enseignement ou de formation” (journeys between home and a teaching or training establishment).
This general form which you will need in this particular case is not to be confused with the “Justificatif de déplacement scolaire”. The latter is a permanent form for pupils and students aged under 18 only to use for daily trips to and from school. This “scolaire” form requires a signature from parents or guardians, and must also be signed by the school or teaching establishment.
The general form must be new/updated with each new journey you make, whereas the “scolaire” form only needs to be completed and signed once and the same form is then carried to and from school each day.
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