French Pupils Urged to Keep Blockading Schools
A student union said pupils should keep protesting after the government announced measures on class sizes, repairs and university admissions.
French pupils should keep barricading their schools and join street protests, a student union said on Monday, after the government announced a package of education measures meant to end the crisis. "We want measures, not half measures," said Pierre Sourzat of the Les Lycéens union.
The high school blockades began more than five weeks ago, in September. They have grown into the biggest youth protest movement in years, joined by trade unions and cost-of-living protesters at regular Saturday demonstrations. Pupils are demanding an end to teacher and staff shortages and repairs to decrepit buildings, with collapsing ceilings, mould, broken toilets, missing chairs and windows that do not shut.
What the government offered
Education minister Édouard Geffray said some schools were so dilapidated they were "not fit" for teaching. He announced a state loan of €4bn to regional authorities to start repairs. Class sizes for 15-year-olds in the first year of high school will be capped at 28 in the 50% of schools in the lowest-income areas, and the cap will extend to all high schools next year. He also promised more teaching posts and a review of the baccalaureate.
The university application platform Parcoursup, described as opaque and unfair, will be changed in 2027 and replaced by a new system in 2028. Parliament will debate the issue on Wednesday. Higher education minister Philippe Baptiste said 15,000 extra places would be created, focused on vocational courses, and that the government's door was "open" for more talks.
Sourzat, speaking to France Info television, said: "We're in a power struggle and we still need to call for continued mobilisation to meet a maximum of our demands." Louis Letoublon, who met prime minister Sébastien Lecornu for the union, said: "Not all our demands were met. We'll go on for as long as it takes."
Security and the streets
Several children have been maimed or seriously injured in the protests, allegedly by police explosive weapons, and hundreds have been arrested and held in custody. After the worst day of violence in years on 17 October, with looting, fires and vandalism of state buildings, authorities added restrictions on demonstrations, and some cities have curfews. Saturday's protests passed off largely peacefully.
Interior minister Laurent Nuñez said ultra-right groups arrived in "organised formations" in cities such as Nice and Montpellier at the weekend and targeted protesters. Eleven suspects are to face charges.
In Marseille, Emmanuel Macron said the protests were likely to continue and that the next day of demonstrations, on 31 October, would also be a "day of risk". He said it was "not normal" for the country to be in "such a state of turmoil" six months before a presidential election.
Source: The Guardian