Why did the blacksmith told Franz " Don't go so fast, bub; you will get to your school in plenty of time!"

When Franz was hurrying to school one morning, he noticed a crowd in front of the bulletin board in the town hall. Seeing him running for his class, the blacksmith called out to him and said that he need not run so fast to school as he will get plenty of time to reach there. At first, Franz thought the man was making fun of him, but little did he know about the news the blacksmith was referring to. The bulletin stated an order from Berlin that made it compulsory to teach German instead of French in all schools of Alsace and Lorraine. A new master will be coming the next day to replace Mr. Hammel, their French teacher. Hence, now Franz could see the blacksmith's comment in a new light. He could have been referring to the fact that it will be their last french lesson today, so he need not run as it will be of no use from tomorrow when the new language teacher would come. He might also have assumed that since it is the last class, Mr. Hammel will wait for all his students, so it will not matter today if Franz is a bit late.