Pas-de-Calais faces school and parish reorganizations

The Pas-de-Calais department is facing significant structural changes due to demographic shifts and institutional reorganizations.

In the education sector, the department is managing a decline in student numbers. For the 2026 school year, 58,407 students are expected in public middle schools, a decrease of 1,356 compared to the previous year. In the Montreuillois-Ternois territory, projections suggest a 20% drop in public school enrollment by 2030. Department President Jean-Claude Leroy has stated that despite fewer students, the administration intends to maintain local public services and will not close middle schools in rural areas.

Simultaneously, the religious landscape is undergoing a major transformation. Following a pastoral restructuring led by Olivier Leborgne, Bishop of the Diocese of Arras, the number of parishes in Pas-de-Calais will decrease from 89 to 11, effective September 1, 2026. These new parishes will be divided into 36 missionary spaces. This reorganization has resulted in the departure of several priests as they transition into new roles within the consolidated parish structure.