Heatwave: Schools Closed, Timetables Adjusted, Oral Exam Postponed… what Students and Parents should Expect this Monday

Thousands of schools in France will be closed or will have flexible timetables this Monday 22nd June 2026, while half of France is on heatwave red alert.

This is unheard of in France: this Monday, June 22, 49 departments are placed on heatwave red alert. While temperatures up to 42°C could be recorded in certain territories, a question burns the lips of parents: should I put my child at school? The government has already taken measures, as it announced this Sunday, June 21, 2026: hundreds of schools and colleges will be closed as a precaution this Monday 22nd June.

845 schools and colleges closed Monday in France

A total of 845 schools and colleges will be closed on Monday in France due to the heatwave, a announced Sunday the Minister of Education, Édouard Geffray.

These 845 schools and colleges, out of 60,000 educational establishments in France, “will not welcome students, or a minimal reception” and this “mainly in the departments on red alert”, he specified.

For the moment, we know nothing more about this “minimal welcome” mentioned. It should undoubtedly make it possible to accommodate children if the parents do not have childcare while their child’s school is closed.

Thousands more will adjust their schedules

Furthermore, something 1,800 other establishments will adjust their schedules, by releasing the students at the beginning of the afternoon, said the minister.

The government has chosen to leave control to town halls, prefects and academic authorities to decide on the measures to take. Also, it’s difficult to have a real overview of what Monday will look like. In any case, a very disrupted day is ahead in many territories. This on Monday, 90% of the French population will be under orange or red alert.

Continuity of public service

On Friday, the minister indicated that 784 schools and colleges were affected by timetable adjustments or temporary closures.

“Generally speaking, you have to have a territorial response “, said the Minister of Education on France 3 sunday, “because the situations are different”.

“First, there is a rule, and that is continuity of public service, that’s the principle, then there is an exemption system : from the moment the safety of staff or children is likely to be called into question, we must close”, he assured.

The oral baccalaureate tests arranged

This Monday, these are also the oral tests of baccalaureate who begin. And the schedules will be adjusted, or even the events postponed, in particular to avoid the afternoon furnace, where temperatures will continue to rise.

In the Poitiers academy (Vienna), for example, the “grand oral” baccalaureate exams, scheduled for the afternoon of Monday 22nd June and Tuesday 23rd June, have already been postponed by a week.

The ministry gave its instructions to the academic authorities, notably in a video on YouTube, specifying that the students concerned must be notified in advance.

 

For their part, the trade union organizations are alarmed faced with the “insufficiency” of the responses of National Education and denounce a tinkering.

The Île-de-France region announced on Sunday that it would release “exceptional aid of one million euros for the 500 examination centers in the Ile-de-France region”, aimed at financing “the purchase of misters, fans and other cooling equipment “.

A peak on Monday, but which could last several days

According to Météo France, France is experiencing a “scorching episode of exceptional intensity”. The number of departments on red alert reaches a record, with 49 departments on red alert this Monday.

This heat peak, with temperatures at 42°C in places, could continue for several more days. Enough to suggest school closures in shambles ? A new interministerial crisis unit is scheduled for this Monday.