Enguerran Maigné: “education, culture and support for families are priorities”

Can you introduce yourself in a few sentences?

 

My name is Enguerran Maigné, I have lived in London for over fourteen years and I am French, a parent and a professional in French and bilingual education. Since my arrival, I have worked in French establishments in the United Kingdom, as a teacher then coordinator of a bilingual program, and I became involved very early in community life, parent networks and the FLAM network.

I have already served five years as an advisor to French people abroad. With The French Collectivean independent citizen list, I want to put this experience at the service of a simple idea: that French people in the United Kingdom and their children can live here without ever losing track of the French language, school and culture, and that their rights, their needs and their projects are defended as much as possible. close to their reality.

 

What does the main mission of advising French people abroad represent for you?

 

For me, an advisor to French people abroad is first and foremost a relay person: someone who listens, who explains, who supports families in their efforts.

Its main mission is to carry the voice of the French across the Channel in all decisions that affect their lives here: school, aid, administrative procedures, culture. He is also a local elected official who remains reachable, who comes to meet people and who works in confidence with consular services.

 

 

How did you put together your list?

 

We built The French Collective like a real citizen list: parents, teachers, associations, entrepreneurs, young professionals, dual nationals, present throughout the United Kingdom.

Our common point is not a party label, but a conviction: education, culture and support for families must once again become the heart of the priorities. We have chosen people already involved in the field, who know the schools, the associations and the realities of daily life, and who are ready to give time for others.

 

Why is it important for French people abroad to take part in these consular elections?

 

Because these elections designate those who, for six years, will represent you on very concrete subjects: education, scholarships, aid, organization of elections, consular services. If you don’t vote, others decide for you how these priorities are carried out.

Voting means choosing elected officials who look like you and who put education, culture and families at the center of their action.

 

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the French in your constituency?

 

The biggest challenge is to succeed in your life here without giving up your link with France, neither for yourself nor for your children. Between the cost of living, tuition fees, the effects of Brexit, and the sometimes complex procedures, many families feel lost or alone in the face of the system.

Our role is to ensure that no educational or cultural project is abandoned for lack of information, support or means, and that everyone can feel fully French, even on the other side of the Channel.

 

Can you detail the main axes of your program for these elections?

 

Our program is divided into four main areas.

Education and youth:

We want French, bilingual establishments and FLAM structures that are accessible, demanding and welcoming for all families. We defend real consultation with parents and teams, and a diversified school offering, so that everyone finds the formula that suits them.

 

Concrete support for families:

We want to better support families in their efforts (school, aid, social rights, returns to France) and make the information clearer and easier to access.

Our priority: that no one gives up on an educational or cultural project for financial reasons or because they did not find the right information in time.

 

Living French culture and Francophonie:

We want to support French-speaking cultural and associative initiatives throughout the United Kingdom. For us, culture is not a bonus: it nourishes language, curiosity and the link to the community.

 

Close, independent and transparent elected officials:

The French Collective is a team already on the ground, in schools, associations, parent networks. We are committed to reporting regularly, to organizing friendly meetings (including in pubs!) and online, and to working without party guidelines, with a single compass: the interest of the French people in the United Kingdom.