French schools "overwhelmed" by COVID-19 and contact tracing

Schoolchildren, wearing protective face masks, work on a project in a classroom at the College Jean Renoir Middle School in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris, France, January 7, 2022. REUTERS/Yiming Woo

Boulogne-Billancourt, FRANCE (Reuters) - Less than a week has gone by since French schools reopened after Christmas, but at the Jean Renoir high school in Boulogne-Billancourt, just outside of Paris, one in four teachers and nearly 50 pupils are already sick with COVID-19.

With new testing and contact tracing rules introduced at the start of this term, the headteacher, Aristide Adeilkalam, now faces a huge challenge.