France Protests: The French government promised on Monday to replace its national online university admissions platform, seeking to quell student anger after weeks of mass protests over education and living costs. Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste announced "substantial change" to the platform next year, before its replacement in 2028, as per reports.
The French national daily, Le Monde, reported that the education and higher education ministers presented the government's plan on October 26 to address the crisis. According to the newspaper, this is the first time the government has offered its political response to the demands of the mobilised youth.
The measures, which roll back some reforms introduced under Emmanuel Macron's presidency, target longstanding problems that have come under repeated criticism over the past decade.
From Parcoursup (France's university admissions platform) to high school class sizes, school buildings and the pressure of ongoing assessment, the government's roadmap includes measures ministers intend to adopt immediately through amendments to the 2027 budget, as well as "projects" to be carried out over the coming months.
According to a report by the Associated Press, the ministers also pledged up to four billion euros in loans for school renovations, along with smaller classes, more teaching and higher education posts, and increased student grants.
The announcements followed France's worst unrest in years on October 17, when demonstrations over school funding and rising living costs descended into rioting and looting across the country.
As per the report by AP, groups of protesters set fires, looted shops, clashed with police and attacked public buildings, briefly storming Marseille's City Hall and setting Limoges' 19th-century town hall ablaze. The fire brought down the Limoges building's roof and clock tower. About 2,400 people were arrested in connection with the demonstrations.
The report added that the university admissions replacement system still has to be designed, and legal changes may be needed, leaving crucial decisions unresolved even as the government seeks to persuade students to end their protests.
The platform, called Parcoursup, allows students to apply to universities and other higher education courses and receive admissions decisions. A record 1.05 million people applied through it this year, according to the Higher Education Ministry. The protesters have criticised unclear selection criteria and unequal access to their preferred courses.
As a remedy, for the 2027 admissions, institutions would publish more detailed selection criteria. The platform would provide explanatory information with each rejection, and institutions would have to give applicants the reasons for their decisions if requested.
A committee involving students and teachers would produce initial recommendations for the replacement system by the end of November. The government said that it would introduce legislation if the proposed changes require it.
The government also promised 15,000 additional places in higher education across 2027 and 2028, mostly in vocational and technical programmes, and increases in student grants linked to inflation from the start of the 2027 academic year.
