French Schools to Ramp up Security with “Mock Attacks”
French Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem and Interior Minister Bernard Cazenueve have outline their plan for new security measures in schools, ahead of the start of the new school year next week.
The plan will focus on three key principles, “Anticipate, get safe and know how to react,” a plan that was introduced after the November 2015 attack in Paris.
These measures included heightened security at the entrances of school buildings, limiting crowds at school gates and increased surveillance.
The plan also outlined new exercises, including the simulation of a terrorist attack in schools for all children aged three and older.
The mock attacks will be turned into a game for the youngest children to ensure they don’t associate the exercises with fear.
Other measures will include extensive training of head teachers in crisis situations in a bid to make their crowd control reaction a second nature in the event of an attack.
Teachers will also be asked to receive a certain update to their mobile phones so that they may receive any alert updates. This will be tested as soon as students and teachers go back to school in September.
In addition to the security measures, the French MP has called on schools to impose a compulsory martial arts program for students to help with the fear of terrorist attacks.