Paris – 06/09/2026: The animators of Parisian schools continue their labor action and have called for a strike until June 16. The reason is the ongoing staff shortage in the after-school care department (Périscolaire) and, from the employees’ perspective, the prevailing general mistrust toward their work.
The strike mainly affects lunchtime from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., leading to temporary closures of some cafeterias. The inter-union association, consisting of Unsa, Supap-FSU, CFDT, CGT, FO, UCP, and CFTC, is mobilizing around 14,000 animators from Parisian schools and has announced a demonstration on June 16 in conjunction with the opening of the Paris City Council.
The previous strike action between May 11 and 22 had significant impacts: nearly 400 schools were affected, and about 2,000 after-school care employees participated in a demonstration. According to Nicolas Léger of the Supap-FSU union, the demands have not changed since then. The animators primarily want more staff to better ensure the care of children.
The new socialist mayor Emmanuel Grégoire held talks with the unions last week. He points to the ongoing Citizens’ Convention on Child Times, the results of which will be published at the end of June. This convention aims to reform the organization of after-school care and increase the safety of the children being looked after. One goal, for example, is that henceforth no animator should work alone with a child.
Furthermore, the city of Paris plans to present additional social measures in July as part of a supplementary budget. However, the unions are skeptical and fear that the planned staffing increases will merely formalize the legal status of already employed personnel without addressing the fundamental problem of chronic staff shortages or meeting legally required childcare ratios.
Another point of criticism from the unions is the “general mistrust” within the department, which has noticeably increased since the City’s action plan against sexual violence in after-school care. Since early 2026, there have been 78 suspensions of city employees, 31 of which involved suspected cases of sexual violence. Many suspensions were implemented without accompanying support for those affected and often related to allegations of pedagogical violence in daily operations.
With their strike and planned demonstration, the animators aim to draw attention to difficult working conditions and create political pressure for sustainable change. The situation in the after-school care department remains tense, as neither sufficient staff funding has been promised for the future nor has the working climate improved.
Sources
- TF1 Info