French schools are failing badly. A report from the Observatory of Immigration and Demography (OID), published this week, lays bare the extent of the education system’s struggle with immigration. The report’s author, teacher and writer Joachim Le Floch-Imad, delivers the verdict that “immigration is not the primary cause of our schools’ problems, but it exacerbates all of their difficulties.”
After all, France’s demographics have changed at a rapid pace, placing unprecedented pressure on classrooms, teachers and the basic mission of the school system. In 2024, 31% of newborns had at least one parent born outside the EU. Births to two non-EU-born parents are up 74% since 2000. Today, 40% of children under four in France are either migrants or have a migrant background. And more than one in five fourth-grade (aged nine and 10) speaks a language other than French at home.
