French students announce new school blockades

Paris, Oct 31 (EFE).- French student organizations Saturday called for renewed blockades of secondary schools and universities next week, seeking to maintain pressure on the government, which they accuse of trying to divide the protest movement and avoid meeting their demands.

«We see that this government is organizing chaos,» Sabrine Kharbach, spokesperson for the Student Union, said at a demonstration in Paris.

She accused President Emmanuel Macron’s government of trying to «disorganize» the protests.

Student representatives said they would resume blockades at schools and universities from Tuesday and stage further actions on Thursday, when they plan to join a nationwide mobilization and strike called by trade unions.

Suzanne Nijdam, president of the Federation of General Student Associations (FAGE), said measures announced by the government earlier this week had failed to quell the protests and called for concrete responses to students’ demands.

Nijdam also accused the government of seeking to «stifle» and divide the movement to weaken it, urging the executive to move beyond announcements and present concrete budgetary commitments.

Manon Moret, secretary-general of the National Union of Students of France (Unef), likewise rejected what she described as a government strategy of «disorganization and chaos.»

She called on the authorities to find the necessary funding and allocate 10 billion euros to meet students’ demands.

The calls for renewed protests come despite repeated appeals from Macron and Education Minister Édouard Geffray for students to return to classes peacefully on Monday, following the two-week autumn break.

In an open letter to students, Geffray expressed his «deep confidence» in them and defended the measures announced by the government to address their concerns.

Among the proposals is a plan to limit class sizes to 28 pupils in the second year of secondary school in half of the most disadvantaged institutions from September 2027, before extending the measure to all schools in 2028.

The government has also announced plans to recruit more teachers.

Geffray also outlined changes to the Parcoursup higher education admissions platform, which is due to be replaced in 2028.

The government will additionally examine school timetables, meal breaks and transport arrangements, as well as the baccalaureate’s continuous assessment system, with the aim of introducing changes from the next academic year.

Student organizations have dismissed the announcements as insufficient, maintaining their demand for 10 billion euros in additional investment.

Their proposals include creating 250,000 higher education places, recruiting more teachers and renovating secondary schools. They are also calling for the abolition of Parcoursup.

The Secondary School Students’ Union (USL), which has been at the forefront of the blockades in recent weeks, is expecting a «massive» return to protests from Monday.

Turnout after the holidays will provide an indication of the movement’s strength following the government’s latest announcements.

However, public support appears to have weakened.

According to an Odoxa-Backbone Consulting poll for Le Figaro, 64 percent of French people want the university and secondary school protests to end.

In recent weeks, more than six in 10 respondents had supported the high school students’ movement, according to previous surveys. EFE

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