French President Emmanuel Macron called for action on concerns driving student protests Monday, France 24 and Actu17 reported, as ministers prepared to detail the government’s response on schools and admissions.
The Education Ministry said Education Minister Édouard Geffray and Philippe Baptiste, the higher education minister, will present the government’s response and report on student consultations and talks about Parcoursup, France’s higher education admissions platform.
Students have complained of missed classes, school conditions, long days and uncertainty over admissions, according to the government’s account of their demands. EconoTimes previously covered Macron’s plans for talks with youth representatives.
In a plan issued Oct. 7, the government put student participation, admissions guidance and school timetables alongside building conditions and teacher absences. The Education Ministry said Oct. 9 it planned to send more than 3,000 substitute teachers to high schools with the greatest need.
At an Oct. 14 cabinet briefing, the government said 2,000 of the 3,000 teachers designated for substitute posts had been assigned. It said regions manage public high school facilities and services, including cafeterias and boarding, and that it would work with them on priorities and timing. The government has not specified how the costs of forthcoming measures would be divided.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said Oct. 23 that Parcoursup would change, without detailing the revisions or funding. France 24 reported that demonstrations had expanded to concerns about living costs and policing, with violence on the sidelines.
Geffray and Baptiste’s news conference is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET (16:30 UTC) Monday.