Macron to Meet Student Groups as France Braces for Protests
French President Emmanuel Macron plans to meet high school student representatives as protests over education and living costs continue. Students are calling…
Paris is preparing for more protests as high school students press for changes to education. President Emmanuel Macron plans to meet student representatives on Friday, the first talks between the French leader and groups that have called for an overhaul of the system since September.
The meeting comes as authorities brace for demonstrations over the weekend, following violent riots that broke out after largely peaceful protests last weekend. Students are demanding better-funded schools, more teachers and a greater say in decisions affecting their future.
Jean-Didier Berger, minister delegate to the interior minister, said police presence on the streets would increase by 20 percent. A curfew in Paris will limit movement, while protest bans are in place in Marseille and Lyon.
Students say the pressure reflects problems they have faced in schools, including teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings. Some classrooms have more than 40 students, according to the source report.
“For years, we’ve been given promises that were never kept,” said Soumaya Sarre, an 18-year-old student and a leading figure in the Federation of High School Students from Working-Class Neighbourhoods. “What we want is for promises to be backed by concrete results. We want to see real change in our high schools.”
The protest movement has grown since mid-September. Students have also raised concerns about Parcoursup, France’s university admissions system, which many consider discriminatory.
Nathanael Combary, 18, president of the board of directors of the student organisation Renouveau Lyceen, said students were seeking a comprehensive overhaul of Parcoursup and a 1.5-billion-euro ($1.7bn) emergency plan to improve school infrastructure before winter and summer. Other student organisations and unions are calling for an additional 10 billion euros ($11.2bn) for education, more teachers on permanent rather than precarious contracts and 250,000 additional university places.
“My primary goal is to provide very concrete solutions,” Combary said.
The government has announced 3,000 additional substitute teachers and an online consultation. Its 2027 budget allocates an extra 1.1 billion euros ($1.2bn) to national education. Students say those steps have not answered their demand to be heard in decisions that shape their schools and future options.
Combary described the dispute as a breakdown in communication between young people and political leaders. “We need a government that listens to us and is capable of responding to our demands,” he said.
Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste has ruled out abolishing Parcoursup, calling the proposal “pure demagogy”, but said he was ready for “profound changes”. The Union etudiante, a national student union federation, said after a meeting with the minister on October 7 that he could not give it any guarantees.
The government is due to present a first set of decisions at another meeting on Monday. That announcement will test whether the talks can address students’ specific demands as demonstrations continue.
Authorities are also preparing for the public-order risks. Last weekend’s protests began largely peacefully before turning violent, prompting accusations that officials had failed to prepare adequately. Police are increasing their presence, while restrictions on movement and demonstrations will affect people in Paris, Marseille and Lyon.
The stakes extend beyond school policy: students’ complaints have become part of a broader nationwide movement, while the government faces political deadlock and mounting debt. The immediate question for the student groups is whether the promised decisions will bring concrete changes to classrooms and admissions.
The government’s 2027 budget allocates an extra 1.1 billion euros to national education.
Source: aljazeera.com
