Life at the lycee

Inside the "salle de prof"... no kids allowed...the xerox machine is just around the corner.



Coffee, cookies, chit chat...the occasional appearance by the proviseur (principal) or the adjoint (vice principal)














Also the site for the occasional animated discussion of (take your pick) politics, school regulations and policies, local events...in this case Phillipe and Hamed are taking about recent governmental efforts to increase teacher workloads and/or reduce their pay and what to do about it.














Meanwhile,just outside the front gates, no farther really than you could toss a baguette...the students congregate in the smoking area.


The older ones are very discreet about their cigarettes when having their pictures taken...














The young ones, not so much...

I should add that the stigma of smoking is nonexistant here...nobody looks at these kids as if they are hooligans or losers just because they're smoking.













Back inside the campus at the doorway to the "permanence" a sort of study hall area...backpacks piling up.












another fact of life...students either get dropped off, take the bus, or take scooters...


or bikes...

you have to be at least 18 to drive here, so there are practically no cars belonging to students parked in the parking lot...I can always find a parking spot even though the lot is not very big.