French education minister pushes to ban afternoon exams as heatwave strikes baccalaureate week

Minister's Sunday announcement

On Sunday, June 14, French Education Minister Édouard Geffray told France Inter that he no longer wants any end-of-year exams held in the afternoon, citing climate change. "I simply want no more exams to take place in the afternoons," he said. The minister argued that the 2pm–6pm slot is "not possible" given the heat that regularly hits May and June. He noted that examinations held between 8am and 12pm benefit from cooler morning air if rooms are ventilated before arrival.

Exams and the forecast heat

The written baccalaureate exams for terminale students begin on Monday, June 15 with the philosophy paper, scheduled from 8am to noon. Première students sat French on Thursday and, for the first time, mathematics on Friday. Météo France forecasts a new heat episode from Wednesday onwards: temperatures are expected to reach 32–36 °C across the country and up to 37 °C in Paris. Even on Monday, several cities will already be warm, with Bordeaux and Montpellier each bracing for 33 °C, Nantes and Toulouse 32 °C, Rennes 31 °C, Alençon 30 °C and Paris 29 °C.

Bordeaux33

Montpellier33

Nantes32

Toulouse32

Rennes31

Alençon30

Paris29

Bordeaux

33 °C

Montpellier

33 °C

Nantes

32 °C

Toulouse

32 °C

Rennes

31 °C

Alençon

30 °C

Paris

29 °C

Data from the article text

Unions react: cautious welcome, deeper demands

Sophie Vénétitay, secretary general of the Snes-FSU union, described the proposal as a good step but insisted that school buildings themselves must be renovated for thermal efficiency. She recalled the late-May heatwave that saw over 77.6% of surveyed secondary schools recording classroom temperatures above 30 °C, calling the current approach "big patchwork." Bruno Bobkiewicz, head of the SNPDEN school leaders' union, welcomed the minister's intent but warned of logistical knock-ons: exam sessions spread over more days and the need for school transport operators to align their midday return schedules for collège students who still have classes in the afternoon.

“It's a period we dread because we know it will be over 30 degrees in the classrooms, making conditions extremely difficult.”

The afternoon orals and unfinished business

Despite the minister's call, oral exams will still be held in the afternoon, Le Parisien reported. The minister's immediate push is to make morning-only written exams permanent, though no formal decree has been issued. Union representatives argue that without retrofitting school buildings, morning sessions alone cannot guarantee comfortable conditions if the outside temperature continues to climb earlier in the day.

A timeline of the week