Teachers picket elite Paris school due to tuition fee U-turn
The prestigious €39,000-a-year American School of Paris withdrew free schooling for the families of staff
The teachers say that their union has been very supportive both in terms of legal advice as well as providing them with protest banners and flagsDaniel Lees
British, American and French teachers at the prestigious American School of Paris have taken to picketing the establishment in protest against the school's decision to withdraw free tuition for the children of teachers.
The €39,000-a-year American School of Paris was established after World War Two to provide an elite English language education to the children of military and business families tasked with helping France rebuild.
Situated on a 12-acre campus in Saint-Cloud in the western suburbs of Paris, the school caters to 835 children aged three to 18, many of whom belong to the Paris international elite and jet-set, including diplomats, footballers, film stars and business moguls. Actress Eva Green graduated from the school in 1997.
A high proportion of the school’s teachers are recruited from abroad, drawn in part by the promise of enrolling their own children in the exclusive establishment for free.
However, in 2024 this perk was abruptly withdrawn and replaced with an offer of a 30% discount – essentially telling teachers to pay tens of thousands of euros or move their children.
“It’s like the rug was pulled out from under our feet,” teacher Daniel Lees, 52, told The Connexion. “But what makes it so appalling is that they have kept the free tuition in place for the families of the school directors.”
The teachers, who were unfamiliar with the legal implications, sought advice from lawyers and turned to their union.
“None of us knew anything about French unions and had never organised a protest,” said Mr Lees. “But the union was extremely supportive and surprisingly impartial.”
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The SNPEFP-CGT union advised teachers on the legality of the school’s decision, as well as possible avenues of negotiation.
The previously free tuition, it emerged, was possibly difficult for the school to justify to Urssaf, constituting an advantage in kind that ought to have been subject to tax.
The directors, it emerged, are essentially given extra pay to fund their children’s education in the school.
However, the union said the school could have put in place a system of scholarships to allow teachers to enrol their children – a solution used in other international schools.
“We love the school and our job, so we didn’t want to penalise children by striking,” said Mr Lees. “So we started organising pickets at the entrance to the school from April.”
The teachers prepared to protest, collecting bibs, flags, loudspeakers and informational tracts from the CGT union.
Given the school’s clientele, the directors were nervous.
“They sent out emails to parents promising ‘safe entry on the day’. They even sent security people!” said Mr Lees. “And there we were outside the school, chuckling and sharing coffee, croissants, music and smiles with the families we see and teach every day.”
“It may well be embarrassing for the school but they made the promise when they hired us that our kids would be admitted – and many of us came here from abroad.”
However, the situation has not changed and the teachers are having to organise new schools for their children for the return of classes in August.
“We are planning a big protest at la rentrée on August 28,” said Mr Lees. “The school most certainly has lost its way and our mission is to help guide it back to its founding principles of being a family-oriented community”.
The American School of Paris did not respond to requests for an interview.
