FRANCE – Student protests continue, education minister invites representatives for talks

PARIS, Oct 8 /ATSH-AA/ – High school and university students have continued protests across France to demand more educational resources, after Education Minister Edouard Geffray invited student representatives for talks.

Geffray invited three high school student associations – Union Syndicale Lyceenne (USL), Renouveau Lyceen and Lyceens! – to the ministry at 15:00 local time, where Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste will also take part, as Le Parisien reports.

The mobilisation continued after Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu pledged on Wednesday evening to announce initial measures by the end of October. Students blocked several schools in Paris, while Pantheon-Assas University cancelled morning classes because of the blockade. Lumiere Lyon 2 University closed three campuses for the day, citing a high risk of disruption.

Blockades were also reported at high schools in Angers, where firefighters intervened to extinguish burning rubbish bins. Education Ministry forecasts showed that 224 institutions would close completely and 151 would be partially disrupted on Thursday, about 30 per cent fewer affected institutions than forecast on Wednesday.

Student organisations called for rallies outside prefectures in the Ile-de-France region, followed by a gathering at Paris’s Place de la Bastille at 15:00. Several education unions, including Snes-FSU, CGT, FO and Sud, supported a day of strikes and demonstrations.

The demands include 250,000 additional university places and an end to selection through the Parcoursup admissions platform. USL president Ryad Rani called for a meeting with Lecornu next week, saying student representatives had costed proposals.

Meanwhile, the president of the National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet, asked protesters and police to stay calm and called for a response to the students’ concerns. Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon defended the government’s education plans, saying 64 billion euros have been allocated for national education next year.