Les Oubliés

In front of the green gate of his elementary school
He's recognized right away
Always the same look with his wool sweater
We know he's a teacher
He cries for the closure in the upcoming school year
Of his last two classes
It seems the reason is the lack of staff
But we know what's really going on
We are the forgotten ones

The countryside, the lost ones
The ones too far from New York
The least of their worries
Wanting to combine the neighboring districts with 30 students per classroom
This same philosophy that turns the country into a shopping center
It wasn't enough for them that we have no more grocery store
That the doctors are leaving
There's no one left in town
Only the banks shining on the main street
We are the forgotten ones
The countryside, the lost ones
The ones too far from New York
The least of their worries

How sad is the little town with all these roundabouts
That make heads spin
How sad is the playground without the kids' screams
The balloons in the windows
Even the little baker wonders what she's going to do
With her sticky sweet treats
Even the neighbor across the street is scared, it stresses her out
This silence in the school
We are the forgotten ones
The countryside, the lost ones
The ones too far from New York
The least of their worries

When in the highest corridors of the ministry
The students are just numbers
There are people on the ground, with chalk-covered hands
That are taken for granted
Those who close the schools, the ones in suits and ties
Are often the ones
Who will never see, not even from afar
A child in the eyes
We are the forgotten ones
The countryside, the lost ones
The ones too far from New York
The least of their worries
We are third-rate
The last slice of the cake
The countryside, the lost ones
We are the forgotten ones
In front of the green gate of his elementary school
There's the village teacher
His whole life, kids
Building them a future
He must turn the page
We are the forgotten ones