High school and university students again blocked roads and educational institutions in various parts of France on Thursday, demanding more resources and opportunities in education. In response, Education Minister Edouard Geffray has moved to hold talks with representatives of the protesting students, Reuters reports.
According to the local newspaper Le Parisien, representatives of three student organisations, Union Syndicale Lycéenne, Renouveau Lycéen and Lycéens!, were called to the education ministry at 3pm local time. Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste was also due to attend.
The students kept up their action even after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu promised on Wednesday evening to announce some initial measures on education by the end of October.
Students blockaded several schools in Paris. Morning classes at Panthéon-Assas University were cancelled because of a blockade, and Lumière Lyon 2 University closed three of its campuses for the day for fear of disorder.
Blockades were also reported at several high schools in the city of Angers, where the fire service had to step in to put out rubbish bins that had been set alight.
According to the education ministry’s forecast, 224 institutions were to be fully closed on Thursday and another 151 partly disrupted. That was about 30% fewer than had been forecast at the same time on Wednesday.
The student organisations called rallies in front of prefectures across the Île-de-France region, followed by a large gathering at the Place de la Bastille in Paris at 3pm. Several education unions, including SNES-FSU, CGT, FO and SUD, have backed the strikes and demonstrations.
The students’ demands include creating an extra 250,000 university places and ending the selection of students through the Parcoursup admissions platform.
Riyad Rani, president of the Union Syndicale Lycéenne, has called for a meeting with Prime Minister Lecornu next week. He says the students have drawn up specific proposals with costings.
Meanwhile, the speaker of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, urged protesting students and the police to stay calm, and stressed the need for effective steps on the students’ concerns.
Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon defended the government’s education plans, saying 64 billion euros, or about $72 billion, had been set aside for the national education system next year.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report