Leaders of the MR and Les Engagés parties Georges-Louis Bouchez and Maxime Prévot, allies in forming the upcoming Wallonia and French Community governments, concluded their final day of civil society consultations on Friday.
The two leaders met with education stakeholders at the French Community Parliament (Wallonia-Brussels Federation), where parties outlined their expectations and concerns to Bouchez and Prévot. This included laying out potential "red lines" in consideration for a community policy statement.
The future of the Pact for Excellent Education and the status of teachers were two key concerns for the sector.
An initial group met at 08:00, consisting of representatives from primary, secondary, and special education sectors, and PMS. The meeting was scheduled until 10 am but was extended by nearly an hour.
The Bouchez-Prévot duo actively questioned the stakeholders, encouraging a rich exchange of ideas, according to people close to the two sides.
Upon exiting, participants expressed satisfaction in having been heard, despite there being no guarantee that their demands would be met.
In the words of Nicolas Lejeune of the PMS collective "Faut l’dire", Bouchez and Prévot made no promises: "They listened to us. They made it clear they were not magicians."
A second group, including representatives from teacher unions and organising authorities, was scheduled to meet later in the morning.
