Protests in France: Students don’t want “lazy compromises”

At a meeting with the unions and student organizations, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu addressed the young people's demands for the first time. He promised them that “Parcoursup”, the heavily criticized platform for allocating study places at universities, would be improved in 2027 based on the proposals and then replaced by a different system in 2028. The two chambers of parliament are scheduled to discuss the matter on Wednesday, albeit in a completely non-binding manner.

The Parcoursup platform, which has been in use since 2018, was criticized because it distributed the most coveted study places based on opaque criteria and also discriminated against young people because of their origins from less renowned lycées. The fact that many people have to wait a long time in uncertainty after graduating from high school, the Baccalauréat (Bac), and often don't know what they can study and where at the start of the semester, means unbearable stress for families. The government said that this system was still better than a lottery for existing study places or a numerus clausus.

But now the government is taking the first accommodating steps towards the ten demands that the students presented to the government. Lecornu also wants to grant the regions responsible for maintaining the middle schools additional loans for the renovation of the buildings, some of which are very dilapidated, and to address the problem of lost hours.

So far, both the head of state Emmanuel Macron and his prime minister Lecornu have turned a deaf ear. The authorities responded to the protests with massive and often brutal deployments of law enforcement. Instead of intimidating the young people, this repression increased the mobilization that has spread to other social circles in the last two weeks.

Trade union associations and “yellow vest” ragers have joined the social movement with additional concerns. The yellow vests want to demonstrate again everywhere on October 31st together with the young people. And the unions have called a general strike for November 5th. The government seems helpless and France seems to be sinking into chaos.

President Macron appears unwilling to give in. He arrived in Marseille on Monday for a surprise visit, where he visited the mayor in his town hall, which was devastated by rioters on October 17th. In an authoritarian tone, he insisted on a return to peace and order, saying: "It is not normal for France, six months before the elections, to be in such a state." This sentence sounds as if it is not itself part of the problem.

The head of state does not seem to be aware of any responsibility for the crisis in France. Before last Saturday, he had explicitly wanted all rallies that were not registered by “legitimate” organizations such as trade union associations to be banned. Constitutional lawyers and human rights organizations had criticized this as illegal and a serious interference with democratic rights. With a view to the next round of the conflict on October 31st, the president now wants the rallies to be kept away from the city centers if possible and only permitted in the periphery.

The student organizations had said before the meeting with Lecornu that they would not accept “lazy compromises”. They subsequently declared that Lecornu's concessions were not enough for them. They are calling for “immediate 10 billion euros” in additional funding for the education system. They also expressed outrage that the Prime Minister had revealed his announcements in advance to several young Tiktok influencers and YouTubers, thus enabling a discussion.