Édouard Philippe proposes 20% teacher pay raise and parental fines for 2027 presidential bid

Salary pledges and European benchmarks

In an interview with Le Figaro published on 24 August 2026, Horizons party candidate and former prime minister Édouard Philippe presented his education program ahead of the 2027 French presidential election. Philippe proposed an average 20% salary increase for teachers across a five-year presidential term, aiming to lift French teacher compensation to at least the European average, particularly for educators at mid-career. According to 2024 data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a French primary teacher with 15 years of experience earned $49,462 annually, trailing the OECD average of $59,673. Philippe described the proposed raise as a necessary measure to restore dignity to the profession.

It is massive, but it is indispensable to restore dignity to their profession.

Demographics and domestic pay scales

To finance the salary increase without degrading public finances, Philippe pointed to expected demographic declines in pupil numbers. Figures from the French education ministry statistical branch (Depp) show that France will have 1,676,800 fewer pupils by 2035 compared to 2025, a 14.2% drop caused by low birth rates. Philippe stated that having nearly one million fewer pupils would allow the state to reduce class sizes where needed while improving teacher pay. According to Depp data, full-time civil servant teachers in public and contracted private schools earned an average monthly net salary of 3,180 euros in 2024, with primary teachers earning 2,950 euros and agrégés earning 4,190 euros. Across all categories, average monthly net earnings were 3,090 euros, up 4.3% due to bonuses. Philippe noted that education must still respect efficiency requirements.

Making school a priority does not mean exempting it from any requirement of efficiency.

Authority, discipline, and parental fines

Philippe structured his education program around three core priorities: fundamental knowledge centered on merit and excellence, teacher dignity, and the restoration of authority and security in schools. To strengthen discipline, he proposed introducing a school responsibility fine modeled after regulations currently in force in the United Kingdom. Under the proposed mechanism, municipal mayors would hold authority to impose swift financial sanctions on parents of violent, disruptive, truant, or bullying students following recommendations from school teaching staff. Philippe also outlined plans to reform initial teacher training by establishing specialized normal schools with stricter academic requirements focused on core subjects.

School autonomy and artificial intelligence

The candidate advocated for expanded operational autonomy for individual schools to adapt to local circumstances. Headteachers would receive increased authority to organize class structures, adjust daily and weekly timetables, and add instruction hours when deemed necessary. School administrators would also be permitted to advance the start of the school year by one to two weeks for struggling pupils for whom summer holidays are excessively long. On technology, Philippe proposed a tiered policy prohibiting artificial intelligence tools before middle school, introducing supervised AI education in lower secondary classes, and deploying universal AI-assisted tutoring in high schools. The program also recommends adopting AI tools to assist teachers with lesson preparation and assignment grading.