- The rate of teaching posts filled stands at 98.5% in primary education and 96.1% in secondary education.
- The Minister of National Education, Édouard Geffray, attributes this increase to reforms in recruitment exams.
- Trade unions, such as the Snes-FSU, denounce the figures as « smoke and mirrors » and cite persistent malaise within the profession.
- According to a consultation by SE-Unsa, only 0.3% of the 43,000 teachers who responded say they are confident in the future of the education system.
A reported improvement in recruitment indicators
As more than 850,000 teachers return to work this Monday, 31 August, ahead of welcoming nearly 11.6 million pupils to schools, the Ministry of National Education has presented a positive assessment of staffing levels. Following several years marked by a significant shortage of candidates, the executive is highlighting a noticeable increase in the number of posts assigned across the country. According to Minister Édouard Geffray, the reorganisation of recruitment exams has made it possible to assign teachers to almost all positions in schools. In nursery and primary schools, the coverage rate has reached 98.5%, compared to 92.1% at the start of the previous school year. Progress is similar in secondary education, with 96.1% of posts filled in middle and high schools, compared to 90.6% a year earlier. The government also ensures that long-term unreplaced absences will remain extremely marginal.
A perspective tempered by trade unions
This optimistic vision presented by the authorities is strongly contested by teaching staff representatives, who urge caution regarding these figures. Unions point out that these statistics are partially misleading due to the exceptional coexistence this year of recruitment exams for both Bachelor’s and Master’s level graduates. This transitional overlap has allowed for a temporary expansion of the pool of available candidates without permanently resolving the recruitment crisis. For teacher representatives, the fundamental problem linked to the lack of attractiveness of the profession remains unresolved, despite the regulatory adjustments decided by the ministry.
Persistent malaise at the end of two five-year terms
The start of the 2026 school year marks the final stage of Emmanuel Macron’s second term, whose educational record has drawn highly critical judgements from social partners. Sophie Vénétitay, general secretary of the Snes-FSU, believes that ten years of educational policies have degraded teachers’ working conditions and weakened the sense of their mission. A survey conducted by SE-Unsa among 43,000 respondents reveals that only 0.3% of them express confidence in the future of the education system. Beyond the issue of having a teacher in every classroom, demands for salary increases remain the central priority voiced by the profession.
