CIVIC LANE In France Gabriel Attal has made education reform a central part of his 2027 presidential platform. His proposals include smaller primary-school classes, significantly higher teacher pay and greater autonomy for individual schools. He says France should aim to reach the top of international education rankings within 10 to 15 years. The proposals reopen the classic dispute over whether better schools mainly require more resources, stronger teachers, smaller classes or greater institutional freedom. Asking voters to prioritise those solutions reveals much more than a simple reaction to a politician.