Overview

• The groupes de besoins were launched in September 2024 under Gabriel Attal’s choc des savoirs reform to tailor French and math instruction to student needs
• A June 17 IGESR interim report acknowledged better visibility of academic struggles but concluded the initiative failed to narrow performance gaps for the most fragile pupils
• Schools faced uneven rollout due to shortages of classrooms, teachers and substitutes and difficulties in reshaping timetables
• Educators and the SNES FSU union warned that level-based grouping risked stigmatizing struggling pupils and widening educational inequalities
• The Education Ministry plans to grant principals greater autonomy and introduce more flexible implementation rules ahead of a final review in autumn 2025