The meeting at the Élysée

Representatives of French high school students were received on Friday, 23 October by President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. The students have been protesting for weeks against the ParcourSup university admissions platform, the number of pupils in each class and a lack of resources. After the talks they called on their peers to keep mobilising until the government announces concrete measures. They described themselves as generally satisfied that the head of state had listened to their demands. The meeting was Macron's first with representatives of the high school students, according to Bloomberg's report of the talks.

Macron's pledge on ParcourSup

Macron promised to re-examine ParcourSup as part of discussions opened in the week of 19 October on the platform used to gain access to higher education. Agence France-Presse reported that he said he would overhaul the country's computerised university admissions system. The students still want the platform abolished, so the gap between an overhaul and a full scrapping remains open. The pledge was made in the same week that the admissions platform became the centre of the national debate on higher education access. Some of the pledges were given without a timetable, and the students have made clear that they will judge the government by concrete steps rather than by words.

Demands and next steps

The first concrete measures are expected on Monday, 26 October, when the student representatives meet Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. The students say Macron's commitments are not enough and that they are waiting for concrete progress before they end their protests. They are calling for 1.5 billion in education investment. The students are also angry about the quality of education, including the condition of school buildings and timetables that are sometimes overcrowded because of a teacher shortage.

Wider unrest

The protests began with pupils but have since spread into broader social unrest, with the yellow vests joining the demonstrations. Telegraaf reported that demonstrations in several places got out of hand over the weekend of 17 and 18 October, with vandalism, looting and arrests. The weeks of protest have therefore moved beyond school gates and into the wider public square. The representatives' call to continue mobilising means that the next measures announced on Monday will be tested against the streets. For now, the government's first concrete steps remain the key point that the students are watching.