This essay compares the public debate in Sweden 1992 caused by the reforms introduced by the then government giving parents a free choice of schools for their children with the current debate in France about proposals for a similar law there. The study concentrates on the positions taken by the teachers trade unions, in Sweden Lärarförbundet and Lärarnas Riksförbund (LR) and in France SGEN-CFDT. To do so it is necessary also to study the arguments given for and against the proposals by the political parties.

Some of the differences between the debates can be attributed to different circumstances. The Swedish reform was related to the opening up of possibilities to run private schools, which previously had been rare in Sweden. The French debate has no such connections. The private schools, mostly Catholic, have a very stable share of the students and no side is openly arguing for a change of any sort. Other differences depend on the French adversity to liberalism, almost always conflated with neo-liberalism which makes market-oriented arguments much less common in French public debate.

Among the trade unions the big difference is between the two Swedish organisations, LR was overall positive to the proposals while Lärarförbundet opposed them. In France SGEN-CFDT takes a position strikingly similar to Lärarförbundets in Sweden 1992 seeing free choice as undermining the idea of a school system for all. In Sweden that idea is seen as a part of the welfare state, closely connected to the Social Democratic party. In France it is seen as a republican idea, connected to an idea of citizenship.

The trade unions of the teachers in both France and Sweden are also in similar positions as their role has become merely reactive. There seems to be little room left for them to formulate policy and push the educational systems in their prefered directions.