France promises to replace its university admissions after riots and thousands of arrests
The overhaul will add 500 teachers and 15,000 university places as ministers try to calm protests over opaque admissions and school conditions.
- On Monday, the French government pledged to replace its national online university admissions platform, Parcoursup, by 2028, seeking to quell student anger after weeks of mass protests over education and living costs.
- Recent nationwide demonstrations saw turnout estimates ranging from more than 400,000 to nearly 800,000 as students criticized the platform for unclear selection criteria, unequal opportunities, and barriers to preferred courses.
- Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste announced "substantial change" for 2027 during a news conference, shortly after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu met with student representatives Monday to discuss their grievances.
- Though two student groups welcomed some concessions, they called for protests to continue; the government had deployed 3,000 additional substitute teachers to struggling high schools on October 8.
- These measures follow France's worst unrest in years on October 17, when demonstrations over school funding descended into rioting and looting, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to call for addressing legitimate demands.
288 Articles
288 Articles
Reform of Parcoursup, job creation, financial aid... The government is multiplying the concessions to try to extinguish the social anger. But after five weeks of mobilization, the advertisements struggle to convince. ...
Student protests get concessions in France, India and China’s dam battle, Bolsonaro ordered to remain in Brazil
France offers concessions to protestersAfter weeks of student-led protests over poor conditions in French schools, the government has promised to dedicate €4 billion ($4.5 billion) to school renovations, improve teaching, implement other education reforms, and to replace its controversial university admissions platform by 2028. But while representatives from two student groups welcomed the concessions, they said the government had not yet met th…
These are Parcoursup, one of the symbols of mobilization: a site that selects and directs the matures towards higher education courses criticized by the pupils for the use of opaque algorithms that strengthen social inequalities and the strong psychological stress to which they are subjected.
While the government has announced a reshuffle of Courseup by 2028 to respond to high school anger, the possibility of anonymizing the school of origin divides the educational world. This promise of reform raises risks, starting with even more intense inflation of notes.
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Arab NewsFrench students vow more protests despite Macron government’s concessions
French student leaders vowed to go on protesting despite government concessions on education, keeping pressure on President Emmanuel Macron as the movement spreads to unions and other activists, stokes unrest and deepens the economic damage.
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