France schools

Schools in France close as unions say 75% of teachers strike

French ministers have made keeping schools open a priority, despite a recent surge in Covid-19 cases, fuelled by the Omicron variant.

Teachers say Covid rules in school are confusing and constantly changing..

The government said almost 40% of primary teachers and 24% of secondary teachers had walked out on Thursday.

But those figures were well below estimates by unions, which said they expected about 75% of primary teachers to go on strike.

France schools to close under third lockdown

Macron said that schools would move to remote learning from next week.

Lockdown measures, introduced in some areas of France earlier this month, are also being extended to other districts.

All non-essential shops are to close from Saturday and there will be a ban on travelling more than 10km from home without good reason.

France's Health Ministry on Wednesday reported 59,038 new coronavirus cases.

The ministry added that 5053 patients were in intensive care units, down from a 2021 record of 5072 on Tuesday.