Children playing in chalk squares shows heartbreaking reality of reopening schools

A heartbreaking photo of school children sitting alone in the playground in isolation squares has caused outrage in France.

The photo taken in the town of Tourcoing, shows a group of children kept away from each other using squares marked out in chalk.

The three and four-year-olds returned to classes following almost two months of lockdown as the French government eased restrictions. 

“I can’t get over this,” historian Laurence De Cock, who posted the picture on Social media said. “This image is heartbreaking. We can’t call this school.

Lionel Top, a TV journalist with the BFM news channel, took the photo on Tuesday and said the children had been told to stay in their zones.

“To ensure respect for distances, while taking advantage of recreation, the teaching team drew squares on the ground for the little ones,” he reported.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Education in Paris said there were no ‘specific instruction’ for teachers to draw chalk squares for their pupils.

But he confirmed that everybody was under instruction to ‘maintain social distancing’.