President Emmanuel Macron has announced compulsory schooling in France will begin at age three, instead of six, as part of new reforms set to shake up the country's education system.
"Kindergarten will be a founding moment in our school journey," Mr Macron said in his announcement on Tuesday.
"I decided to make kindergarten compulsory and thus to lower the age of schooling from six to three years," he said.
On paper, this ruling will only affect a small minority, with 2017 OECD figures showing at least 95 per cent of three-year-old children are already enrolled in pre-primary school education programs.
However, this percentage is not evenly spread across France and its territories. A higher percentage of three-year-old children attend pre-primary education programs compared to children in Corsica and France's overseas territories.
In announcing his reforms, Mr Macron said the change to make early education compulsory was intended to curb education inequality, as parents in poorer areas of France and in overseas territories were less likely to send their children to school at an early age.
Mr Macron also said the reform aimed to prevent school dropouts because it would eliminate inequality in learning the language.
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