In Petit Bard, a working class neighbourhood of Montpellier, a group of mothers are raising their voices. According to the Nouvel Obs of August 27, they have been concerned about their children’s success at school for several years and are demanding more social diversity in their neighbourhood school. The mothers, who describe themselves as “Muslims and Republicans”, would like to admit “blond children” and reject communitarian ideas. However, this ” association “, composed mainly of Moroccan and veiled women, says they face silent local authorities who never respond to their messages and invitations and offer no solution to improve life in the “ghetto”. On the side of the socialist municipality, the deputy for education, Fanny Dombre-Coste, gives her view: “It is not necessary to come and shout under my windows to have a dialogue, it is enough to invite me without setting a date. The new city administration has been working for a year to support schools and diversity. We take them into account when building new schools,” she explains.
The Petit-Bard women’s collective also advocates republican behaviour in everyday life, especially through patriotic symbols. “Politicians constantly invoke the values of the republic, so we take them at their word. Liberté, égalité, fraternité, it’s nice on the roofs of schools, but it’s even better in the schoolyard,” a spokesperson for the group told Le Nouvel Obs. “The social and cultural mix doesn’t solve everything, but it moves you forward,” added another mother. The collective notes that children have large gaps in their education as they transition from primary to secondary schools, and wants to set an example so that this will change. In the meantime, the mothers feel abandoned by the authorities:”You can imagine that even the electricity for the loudspeaker system is provided by the grocer,” says one of them, who regrets that the districts are on their own.
Montpellier : des mères “musulmanes et républicaines” dénoncent le manque de mixité sociale dans l’école du quartier