One week after students returned to school, the French education system continues to grapple with the aftermath of a major cyberattack that targeted the National Education system. The incident, which occurred in August, has disrupted digital tools used in schools across the country. Many school principals still lack access to essential resources such as their intranet, email, and student records, just days before classes resumed. Marie Tamboura, a principal in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) and a member of the SNPDEN-Unsa union, said all schools have been affected. Some academies, including those in Nantes, Créteil, and Toulouse, have been hit particularly hard and remain largely paralyzed. School administrators are now evaluating the first week of the school year, but many services are still operating at a slow pace. Olivier Beaufrère, a high school principal and national secretary for education and pedagogy of the SNPDEN-Unsa, said the return to school has not gone smoothly. He noted that in some academies, digital systems remain sluggish, adding to the workload for school staff. Marie Tamboura emphasized that it will take time to catch up on the delays. Since the end of August, some services have gradually resumed, but others remain suspended. Marie Tamboura explained that while some applications have started functioning again, the system is not yet fully operational. She highlighted the absence of key tools, such as the one used to track student absences and the application for recruiting education assistants (AED). She mentioned that she had identified a candidate for an AED position, but the contract cannot be finalized due to the lack of access to the necessary digital tools. Laurent Kaufmann, a principal and federal secretary of CFDT education, noted that the timing of the cyberattack was particularly problematic, as it coincided with the later appointment of trainee teachers. This created uncertainty for school heads, complicating the return to school. David Hermet, a primary school director in Tarn-et-Garonne and a member of the Snuipp-FSU 82 union, said his school, part of the Toulouse academy, has been heavily affected. He had to use SMS to communicate with the inspector and a cloud service for institutional messages, highlighting the improvisation required due to the lack of access to academic email. Hermet expressed concern over the long-term impact of the hacking, noting that national assessments for students from CP (first grade) to CME2 (final year of secondary school) have already begun. However, results cannot be entered until the digital services are restored. He fears an "administrative storm" due to the lack of access to essential tools like the Onde application for school management, which is needed for enrolling new students, removing students who have moved, and printing lists, school certificates, or other administrative documents. The Ministry of National Education has stated that teams are "fully mobilized" to restore the various services as soon as possible. However, it has not provided a precise schedule for when the affected tools will be back online. The priority, according to the ministry, is a gradual and secure restoration of these digital systems.