French start work on new Beijing school with built-in air filtration system

A new French international school with a built-in air filtration system will be built in Beijing, and will aim to provide students with a healthy environment for learning and sports despite Beijing's air pollution problem.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who visited China over the past weekend, attended a ceremony to mark the start of construction on the Lycée International Français Charles de Gaulle de Pékin on Sunday, according to the French Embassy in Beijing.

The embassy said that a central air filtration system will be installed in the new school buildings to ensure that normal scholastic activities can continue during periods of heavy air pollution.

"The new Lycée Français International de Pékin air filtration system will ensure optimal sanitary conditions that will allow all pedagogic activities to take place even in the event of an air pollution peak," French Embassy spokesman Tristan Dufes told the Global Times.

The decision to build the school was made after the old French school in Beijing was regularly forced to advise students to stay at home, reported Radio France Internationale.

The embassy said that construction will take about 13 months and that the school is scheduled to open in 2016.

The new school, named after former French President Charles de Gaulle, will be designed to accommodate 1,500 students.

According to Dufes, the new school will replace the Lycée Français International de Pékin, which was established in 1965 and attracted students from more than 40 countries.

Beijing has been covered by heavy smog for the past week. Residents, especially the elderly and children, were advised to take protective measures. Schools were told to avoid outdoor activities and limit physical education classes, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

China will need 20 to 30 years to control air pollution, according to a newly issued low carbon economic report by China's indoor environment monitoring center