Facemasks and sanitizer as French kids go back to school

Schoolchildren, wearing protective face masks, gather as they arrive at a primary school on the first day of the new school year after summer break, in Vertou, France, September 2, 2021. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

PARIS (Reuters) - Twelve million French children headed back to school on Thursday, wearing facemasks, using sanitizer at the entrance and standing distanced from each other in the yard under strict government rules aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

"This is very different from usual 'back-to-school' days," said Matthieu Seguin, deputy director of the Rodin high school in central Paris, also pointing out air purifiers in classrooms and spare masks for any pupils that had forgotten theirs.