You have just received your assignment in the Nantes academy, and a colleague mentions “academic messaging.” This term simply refers to a professional email account assigned to each staff member of the National Education linked to the academy. Since January 2026, its operation has changed: the old Webmel service has been deactivated and replaced by a national platform. This guide details the concrete steps to access it, step by step.
Webmel deactivated: what has changed for the academic messaging of Nantes in 2026
Before January 2026, each department of the academy had its own URL to check emails. Addresses like ia44, ia72, or ia53 led to the Webmel service. These links no longer work.
Since January 12, 2026, Webmel has been permanently deactivated. The professional messaging for staff of the Nantes academy is now hosted on the national platform of the National Education, accessible via messagerie.education.gouv.fr.
This change affects all departments covered by the academy (Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe, Vendée). If you had saved an old departmental link in your favorites, it needs to be replaced. A supplementary guide allows you to access the academic messaging Nantes with detailed screenshots of the new process.
Academic username and password: activate your account on moncompte.ac-nantes.fr
Before even checking your emails, you need to have an active account. This is the first step in the process, and it’s often where things get stuck.
Retrieve your academic username
Your username typically takes the form of “first letter of first name + last name.” In case of duplicates, a number is added. If you don’t know it, go to moncompte.ac-nantes.fr. This portal allows you to find your username using your NUMEN number or your personal email address provided when you started your position.
Reset a forgotten password
The same portal manages password resets. You will need your date of birth and a backup email address (the one you provided upon arrival at the academy). Without this backup address, you will need to contact the IT support service of your institution or your DSDEN directly.
A practical tip: activate your account as soon as you receive your assignment order, even before the start of the school year. The servers are less busy outside peak periods.
Login via the ETNA intranet: the path to the mailbox
Once your account is activated, access to the messaging goes through the academic intranet called ETNA. You cannot simply type “messagerie.education.gouv.fr” in your browser and log in directly with your academic credentials. The process follows a specific order.
- Open the site ac-nantes.fr and locate the “Quick Access” tab at the top of the page, then click on “Intranet ETNA.”
- Enter your academic username, password, and date of birth on the authentication page that appears.
- In the ETNA dashboard, click on the “Messaging” section. This link redirects you to messagerie.education.gouv.fr, where your inbox appears.
This redirection via ETNA serves as an additional verification layer. It confirms that you are indeed a staff member linked to the Nantes academy.
Configure the academic messaging Nantes on smartphone or tablet
Checking emails only from a computer is not always realistic, especially for teachers moving between multiple institutions. The mobile configuration uses the IMAP protocol.
IMAP settings to enter
On both iOS and Android, open the settings of your email application (Mail, Gmail, Outlook). Add an IMAP account. The settings to enter are those provided by the national platform, not the old Webmel settings. The incoming and outgoing server (SMTP) are those of messagerie.education.gouv.fr.
Your username remains the same as for logging in via ETNA. The port and security type (SSL/TLS) depend on your application, but most recent email clients automatically detect these settings once the server is entered.
Common error: using the old departmental servers
If you had previously configured your phone with the old servers ia44 or ia72, your application is likely displaying a connection error since January 2026. Delete the old account in the settings and recreate it with the new parameters. The old departmental URLs no longer redirect to any active server.
Connection issues with ac-nantes messaging: quick diagnosis
You have followed all the steps, but the connection fails? A few checks can save time before contacting technical support.
- Check that your password has not expired. The academy requires periodic renewal. An expired password does not always generate an explicit error message.
- Test the connection from another browser. Some extensions (ad blockers, VPNs) interfere with the ETNA portal.
- Confirm that your date of birth is entered in the correct format (day/month/year). A day/month inversion causes a silent rejection.
- If nothing works, contact the single assistance desk of your DSDEN. Specify your username and the exact error message to expedite processing.
The majority of reported blocks since the migration concern passwords that were not reset after the switch to the national platform. Even if your old Webmel password worked, it may have been invalidated during the transfer.
The transition from Webmel to messagerie.education.gouv.fr has simplified the technical architecture but has also disrupted login habits. The reflex to remember: moncompte.ac-nantes.fr for the account, ETNA for the entrance, messagerie.education.gouv.fr for the mailbox. Three addresses, in this order, and your academic emails become accessible in just a few clicks.
