At a high school in the French town of Seine-Maritime, which is undergoing renovation, several hundred students have had to move their belongings to poorly insulated prefabricated buildings. According to some teachers, the temperature in the classrooms is only 9°C.
It's freezing cold in the corridors of Acacias High School in Seine-Maritime.
As the cold has settled over a large part of the country in recent days, about 350 students from this school have had to pack their things and move into particularly poorly insulated prefabricated buildings located two kilometers from the high school.
The reason is that the educational institution is scheduled to undergo extensive asbestos remediation work at the beginning of next year.
However, the current conditions for the students are spartan: "The teachers have thermometers, and it's 9 degrees in the classrooms," says a parent to the French France 3 Normandie.
"My son says he can't feel any temperature difference, whether he's inside or outside. The students can't keep warm, and they keep their coats on in the classroom," says the father.
The prefabricated buildings reportedly lack any form of insulation and have extremely ineffective radiators.
At least 3 years of work ahead
However, it's not just the lack of heat that's a problem at the school. The toilet doors can no longer be properly closed, and the pavilion that covered the courtyard and provided shelter for the students has blown away. On rainy days, the students are forced to spend their break in the narrow corridors of the school.
The situation does not seem to be improving anytime soon: "They have told us that the work will last at least three years, but that's impossible, we can't continue like this," says another parent.
