Children in France will start school at the age of three instead of six, under new reforms announced by President Emmanuel Macron.

 

法国总统马克龙宣布最新改革举措，法国儿童的入学年龄将从6岁降至3岁。

 

The change will give France one of the lowest compulsory¹ school starting ages in Europe.

 

But it will only affect a small number of children, as the majority of French families already choose to send their children to school at three.

 

Only 2.4% of children are not enrolled² at that age, government figures show.

 

Mr Macron said the change was intended to reduce inequality in education, as parents in poorer areas of France and in overseas territories are less likely to send their children to school at an early age.

 

In Paris, 93% of three-year-olds are enrolled but the figure is much lower in some overseas territories, according to Le Monde.

 

"I hope that with this obligation³, from the start of the school year in 2019, we can... correct this unacceptable differential," Mr Macron told a conference on Tuesday.

 

He hailed⁴ the change as "a founding moment in the French education system".

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