France: Catholic Education Targeted by Paris City Hall

The PLU, known as “bioclimatic,” set a target of 40% state-owned housing in the capital by 2035, including 30% public housing and 10% affordable housing. To achieve this goal, the city has a system called “pastillage,” which makes it possible to identify Parisian properties which could be transformed into public housing.

According to the town hall, the targeted “buildings [are those] with few owners, with a surface area of more than 1000m2 [and] with a housing potential of at least 500m2.” Individually owned houses, schools, universities, and retirement homes can therefore be “subdivided.”

In practice, if the owner plans work requiring a building permit such as "new construction, major restructuring, extension, increased height, or change of use,” then the project must “allocate at least part of its ground surface to apartments,” which can be public housing.

Thus, within a school establishment, classrooms and social housing could coexist in the event of new work, according to the above criteria. But what is upsetting Catholic schools is that no less than “seven private Catholic establishments” have been selected under the program.

The diocesan director of Catholic education in Paris is asking questions about city hall’s intentions. This episode is linked to the recent affair concerning the private Catholic Stanislas College, whose subsidy awarded by the Parisian city hall was suspended at the beginning of 2024. 

The responsible office firmly denies this targeting, explaining that around “30 establishments, of which approximately half are public establishments” would be considered under the project.

A person close to the matter explains that “relations between Paris city hall and Catholic schools have been detestable for five years. Things have become tense for both budgetary and ideological reasons.”