Parents of the Émile Zola nursery school in Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis) had voted early April to move four classes by the end of the month due to the dangers associated with drug trafficking. The Paris police chief hopes for a quick return of the students.
Parents had voted for the rare measure of transferring 4 classes from Émile Zola School at the start of the spring break.
Organized by the municipality, the citizen vote came after a canister of nitrous oxide was thrown into a window of the school in January. Since May 2024, small bags of cocaine have also been found three times in the schoolyard.
«We are talking about very young children, some not even 3 years old. When they find something in the yard, we can’t know what’s happening. We have a lot of trust in the staff here, whether they are from the city hall or the National Education. But we can’t rule out that an accident might happen. The main goal was to ensure the safety of the children by obtaining the majority of votes from the parents», said a mother of a first-year nursery school student to France Télévisions.
An embarrassing situation for the authorities. Interviewed on BFMTV this Friday, Laurent Nunez, Paris police chief, said: «We are relocating the drug dealers. We are hitting all the points. Indeed, moving 4 classes makes an impact. It’s not the Republic that is backing down. I am not very happy with this situation. But let’s not believe that we are doing nothing against drug trafficking. We have never been so effective.»
And he assured that the students will return to this school «as soon as possible». According to him, «in Saint-Ouen, there were 7 drug dealing points. There are now only three, of which 2 are actually operational, and their turnover has decreased fourfold».
The annex of the nursery school, which includes four classes and 60 students, is located in Passage Elizabeth in Saint-Ouen, 300 meters from the ring road.
The wall surrounding the school is topped with high fences and covered in street art. The words «Arago» and «24/24» are also spray-painted, indicating the supposed opening hours of the drug dealing point.
The affected classes are expected to be transferred a few hundred meters away, to the premises of the early childhood center and within a school group.
In early April, the Minister of National Education had stated that «the school will never back down in the face of violence». «We discussed this with Bruno Retailleau (Interior Minister). Obviously, the government is determined to restore a safe environment for this school» even if «classes may temporarily move».
On his part, the Insoumis deputy Eric Coquerel had stated that «the school, in this location, was the last sign of a public service, of civic life…(.) Closing the school really means leaving room for drug trafficking».
Facing criticism, the Mayor (PS) of Saint-Ouen, Karim Bouamrane, had declared that in case of relocation, «a cultural association of adults will move into these premises, so there will be no retreat of public service».
Le préfet de police de Paris espère un retour des élèves «le plus rapidement possible».
Le préfet de police de Paris a exprimé son espoir de voir les élèves revenir à l’école «le plus rapidement possible». Le préfet de police de Paris souhaite un retour rapide des élèves.
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