The French Minister of Higher Education, Philippe Baptiste, said today that he “fears” a nationwide explosion of protests by high school students and students, ahead of the day of demonstrations scheduled for Tuesday. “Yes, I fear it, obviously,” replied the minister, when asked by Sud-Radio about this eventuality, on the eve of the so-called “act 3” of the protest.
Already today, after last week’s student demonstrations which degenerated into chaos and violence in the four corners of France, lessons are “totally or partially” suspended in 400-500 high schools for security reasons, the Minister of Education, Edouard Geffray, reported yesterday. N In Ile-de-France, the Paris region which concentrates almost 20% of the country’s population, a third of the schools, equivalent to 160 institutes, remained closed, according to what was stated by governor Valérie Pécresse.
Seven months after the presidential elections and while parliament is preparing to discuss the 2027 budget, students in France are calling for more resources for schools. They denounce the outdated conditions of school buildings, the overcrowding of classes, the failure to replace absent staff – particularly in the suburbs of the country and the disparities generated by Parcoursup, the controversial school reform accused of entrusting the fate of students to an algorithm.