Overview

• More than 500 signatories published a Le Monde tribune warning that shared textbooks are being supplanted by online courses on a single platform, Pearltrees.
• President Valérie Pécresse announced the number of free 'manuels libres' has doubled to 50 on Pearltrees and said two thirds of teachers use them.
• Under the 2019 rules, schools that opted for all-digital cannot reverse course until the next program change, and this year no regional dotation was provided to buy new paper books.
• Regional leaders deny any push to 'all-digital,' while the left-wing opposition cites contract terms that allow Pearltrees and the region to remove content, a claim the platform counters by stressing teacher-driven reorganization of materials.
• Students report mixed experiences, citing lighter backpacks as well as difficulty finding resources, and the Education Ministry has not said whether similar rollouts are being promoted elsewhere.