Boycott of French military-style remembrance ceremonies in schools, Digi Mart USA News (France): The teachers’ union SUD éducation 93 is calling for a boycott of a new annual remembrance ceremony honoring all “Morts pour la France” (“Died for France”) that French schools are required to hold this school year, according to a publisher article published on November 8, 2026.
The ceremony follows a circular dated July 2, 2026 and an explanatory guide published by Eduscol. The school principal, as the person responsible for organization, will decide the date, which must fall four working days before or after Wednesday, November 11.
Students would gather in the schoolyard in the presence of a French flag or a Marianne, with an “appel des morts” (reading of names of soldiers and others who died), a symbolic gesture, a minute of silence and the singing of La Marseillaise.
According to the article, the ceremony is meant to honor military personnel who died in combat or from the consequences of war as a “symbol of individual sacrifice” and to reinforce national cohesion. The union argues that this aim, along with the guide’s suggestion that military personnel in uniform participate, amounts to glorifying war and promoting a defense mindset in schools.
SUD éducation 93 also links the ceremony to broader measures, including defense classes, the national voluntary service and the Blanchet law on defense education, which it says militarize schools. It cites a remark attributed to a French army chief of staff in November 2025 that France must “accept losing its children.” The union also criticizes public comments by Valérie Pécresse, president of the Île-de-France region, who accused teachers’ unions of “anti-patriotism” for opposing the ceremony.
The union urges teachers, parents and school councils to hold discussions and to pass motions or place the issue on meeting agendas. It calls for mass student and staff absences to prevent the ceremonies from taking place, and states that a strike releases staff from hierarchical authority.
The article also presents a model motion objecting to the circular and demands its withdrawal.
