French school protests: student leaders keep barricade calls alive as government offers concessions
French school protest leaders urged pupils on Monday to keep barricading schools despite entering talks with the government, which responded with a €4bn repairs loan, a class size cap and plans to replace Parcoursup.
French school protests: student leaders keep barricade calls alive as government offers concessions
Union tells pupils to keep up school barricades
A student union said on Monday that French pupils should continue barricading schools and joining street protests, even as the movement sits down with ministers. Pierre Sourzat of Les Lycéens told France Info the movement was now able to negotiate with the government, but made clear the pressure would not let up.
We're in a power struggle and we still need to call for continued mobilisation to meet a maximum of our demands.
His message to fellow pupils was blunt: "We want measures, not half measures."
Louis Letoublon, who met Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on behalf of Les Lycéens, praised the students and said the government was afraid and had to listen. He noted that not all demands had been met and said the protest would go on for as long as it takes.
What the government offered after five weeks of blockades
More than five weeks after high school blockades began in September, the government proposed measures addressing the biggest French youth protest movement in years. Education minister Édouard Geffray acknowledged that some schools were so dilapidated they were not fit for teaching, and announced a €4bn government loan to regional authorities to begin 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 lowest-income areas, extending to all high schools next year.
- More teaching posts will be created and the French baccalaureate system will be reviewed, Geffray said.
- Parcoursup will be changed in 2027 and replaced by a new system in 2028.
- Higher education minister Philippe Baptiste said 15,000 extra student places would be created in higher education, focusing on vocational courses.
The demands behind the French school protests
Pupils demanded an end to staff shortages and repairs to buildings plagued by collapsing ceilings, mould, broken toilets, a lack of chairs and windows that did not shut. The movement has also drawn wider support: trade unions and cost-of-living protesters joined in regular mass street demonstrations on Saturdays.
Next steps and risks
Parliament debates the Parcoursup issue on Wednesday, and Baptiste said the government's door was "open" for more discussions. But the confrontation may not be over. President Emmanuel Macron said in Marseille on Monday that protests were likely to continue, warning that the next day of street demonstrations on 31 October would also be a "day of risk".
