The French investigative journalism site "Mediapart" revealed that the children of the new French Minister of Education have moved from French public schools to private schools, just days after Emily Oudaya Castera was appointed as the French Minister of Education in Gabriel Attal's government.

After what "Mediapart" revealed, the minister tried to justify her position through statements that sparked opposition criticism, saying she was frustrated by the number of teaching hours that were not replaced during teachers' absence in the public school (French public school) in the sixth district of Paris where her children were.

- School of the wealthy

Meanwhile, the French channel "France Info" mentioned that Emily Oudaya Castera, the newly appointed Minister of National Education, has faced severe criticism since last Friday because of transferring her children from a public educational institution to a private school.

"Mediapart" published an investigative report about the Minister of Education and the Ministry of Sports and the Paris 2024 games, stating that the minister, a former professional tennis player who joined the government in 2022, educated her three children at the "Stanislass" (private) school, which is called the school of the wealthy, after having taught them at the "Littéraire" (public) school located in the sixth district of Paris.

- The minister's response

In response to these accusations, the minister said her son Vincent started, like his mother, at the public school "Littéraire," and after that, she and her husband became frustrated, saying, "We saw many hours that were not seriously replaced."

She added: "We became fed up, like hundreds of thousands of families, and since then we have consistently ensured that our children are not only well-trained, with high standards in mastering basic knowledge, but also feel happy and satisfied, have friends, and feel safe and confident."

- Criticism from unions

In contrast, the opposition and teachers' unions rushed to criticize these statements.

Teachers' unions and parents expressed their dissatisfaction.

Soon, the minister's words sparked an outcry of condemnation from the educational community and its representatives in France.

Sophie Vénétitay, the General Secretary of the Union of Schools in France, criticized, saying: "These are provocative and disgraceful statements that certainly reveal the limits of the minister who, in her first appearance, managed to score an own goal."

Less sharply, Jean Rémi Gérard, the head of the High School Union in France, told the newspaper "Le Figaro": "The minister must address the crisis of controversy that these weeks, months, and even years will create. Because from now on, she bears responsibility for other people's children."

Laurent Zamikowsky, the spokesperson for the Union of Parents of Public Education Students, said: "Now that she has said that, it is in her interest to find a solution."

- The far-left and far-right opposition

Away from the unions, the protest took a more political form with exchanges of accusations by the opposition.

Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally party (far-right), said on the platform "X" (formerly Twitter): "Seven years President Emmanuel Macron has been in power, and seven years they did nothing to reclaim the Republic's schools, and today they feel insulted by the deterioration of public education, as if they were not responsible for it."

Olivier Faure, head of the Socialist Party, commented on the minister's remarks as "amazing" on platform "X," mocking her saying: "The public school I am now minister of (referring to the French minister) was not good enough for my children, so I educated them in a private high school, which polls there showed is far from republican values" (referring to reports revealing violations and accusations of harassment in the private school to which the minister's children transferred).