French high school students, university students and teachers are striking and demonstrating across France on Tuesday 10 November, in a day of action called by a coalition of education and youth unions, according to Sortiraparis and GWG. The morning was marked by blockades of high schools, with demonstrations planned in some fifty cities, including a march in Paris from the Pantheon to Place d'Italie starting at 2 p.m.
At 9.30 a.m., the Ministry of National Education reported 49 high schools blockaded out of 3,700, or 1.3 percent, according to Sortiraparis, citing the ministry's figures. The movement, which began in late September, brings together unions including the CGT, FSU, FO and Sud alongside student organisations such as the Union Syndicale Lyceenne, UNEF, the Union Etudiante and FAGE. In Paris, between 2,000 and 4,000 people were expected at the march, according to intelligence reports cited in the coverage.
Students are demanding the end of Parcoursup, the university admissions platform they see as over-selective and opaque, a cap on class sizes, more places in BTS vocational courses, university institutes of technology and health-related training, the creation of new teaching positions and the renovation of schools, according to the reports. Youth organisations are calling for 10 billion euros in education funding. The government has announced 500 additional teaching positions, a cap of 28 students per class in the second year of high school, and 15,000 more places in higher education, and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has said Parcoursup will be replaced by 2028.
The unions say the government's announcements are not enough. Sortiraparis reports that after talks with the prime minister, most high school and student organisations walked out of the first Parcoursup reform committee, denouncing the presence of rival student union UNI and the Rassemblement National at the table. Education Minister Edouard Geffray has confirmed that baccalaureate examinations will not be postponed despite lessons missed because of the blockades, suggesting additional catch-up classes during school holidays and warning that students involved in blockades could face disciplinary sanctions, according to Riviera Radio.
Demonstrations were also planned in Nice, where marchers were due to gather at Place Garibaldi at 10 a.m., and in Marseille, with several thousand expected, according to Riviera Radio. A nationwide public sector strike is already planned for Tuesday 17 November. Readers should note the scale of the blockades is disputed: the ministry reported 49 high schools blocked on Tuesday morning, while student unions cited about 150 on Monday. The turnout at the last big day of action, on 5 November, was put at 575,000 by the authorities and about 1.5 to 1.6 million by the unions.