PARIS — France’s government pledged on Monday to replace its national online university admissions platform in 2028, 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 for next year before its replacement the following year.
The concessions target the school grievances that helped ignite the unrest. But the movement has widened to include workers demanding relief from rising living costs, making the government’s task broader than resolving a dispute over university admissions.
The announcements followed France’s worst unrest in years on Oct. 17, when demonstrations over school funding and rising living costs descended into rioting and looting across the country. Groups of protesters set fires, stormed public buildings — including Marseille’s City Hall — looted shops and clashed with police. About 2,400 people were arrested that weekend.
Two high school student groups welcomed some concessions but called for protests to continue. Their representatives spoke after meeting with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu earlier Monday, before the ministers’ news conference. Further demonstrations have been planned for Saturday, before nationwide strikes and protests called by labor unions for Nov. 5.
The 2028 deadline puts a central concession to protesters beyond President Emmanuel Macron’s time in office, leaving his successor’s government to deliver it. Macron can’t seek a third consecutive term, and far-right leader Marine Le Pen leads polling for the first round of the presidential election on April 18. A second round will be held May 2 if no candidate achieves a majority.
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 system, called Parcoursup, handles applications to universities and other higher education courses. It has been a focus of the protests, with students criticizing unclear selection criteria and unequal access to their preferred courses. For next year’s admissions, institutions would have to publish more detailed selection criteria and explain rejections when applicants request reasons.
The government also promised 15,000 additional places in higher education, introduced across the next two years, and increases in student grants linked to inflation from the start of the next academic year.
Another round of nationwide demonstrations on Saturday featured less violence. Authorities estimated turnout at more than 400,000, while organizers put it at nearly 800,000.
Adamson and Corbet write for the Associated Press.
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