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Europe

French students vow more protests despite Macron government's concessions

2026-10-27

[Jpost] There was no immediate confirmation of the education proposals from the government. A press conference to announce the details was delayed.

French student leaders

…some of whom are French, but almost none of whom are students…

vowed to go on protesting despite government concessions on education, keeping pressure on President Emmanuel Macron as the movement spreads to unions and other activists, stokes unrest and deepens the economic damage.

The measures included a commitment to cap the size of some high school classes; €4 billion ($4.5 billion) of loans for renovating schools; and the replacement by 2028 of a university admissions system students see as socially unfair.

"Not all our demands were met. We'll go on for as long as it takes," Louis Letoublon, one of the representatives of high school students, said as he and fellow student leaders emerged from a meeting with government officials in Gay Paree.

The protests, which have broadened beyond education to draw in trade unions and yellow-vest activists, known for their high-visibility jackets, pose a test for Macron's minority government.

The government has little room to spend its way out of the unrest, with national debt approaching 120% of GDP, while the turmoil is boosting support for far-right frontrunner Marine Le Pen ahead of next year's presidential election.

Let us pray.

The package included €1 billion of investment in university campuses; a move to increase student grants with inflation; and the opening up of a further 15,000 higher education places for students.

"It's clear we have to ease the pressure being felt in the education system," Education Minister Edouard Geffray told a presser.

You wouldn’t need to spend so much if thr students and their little friends were not so destructive…

There was no overall figure for how much funding the package would require. High borrowing needs are already complicating efforts to agree a budget for next year.

PROTESTS SHOW LITTLE SIGN OF EASING AFTER NINE DAYS OF VIOLENCE
The protests, initially triggered by student discontent,

…more likely it was that some students wanted to skip school, so they concocted a protest that got a bit out of hand…

have shown little sign of ending after violence nine days ago engulfed dozens of cities, leading to fears the state had lost control of the streets.

Earlier, Macron acknowledged it was likely there would be more unrest this weekend ahead of a bigger nationwide day of protests set for November 5.

On a tour to survey the damage in Marseille and to thank emergency services after Saturday's protests, he said he would keep security measures in place and work to move protests outside city centers.

Candidate Le Pen, already the frontrunner in next year's presidential election, has benefited from the unrest and perceptions that authorities are struggling to keep the peace.

An opinion poll published on Sunday put her on 32% to 33.5%, well ahead of her nearest rival, hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon on 17%.

Thank goodness for that. Can you imagine if a real Communist took power under these conditions?

Surveys suggest she would easily defeat Melenchon in a run-off ballot, expected to be held in early May.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez earlier said that police had recorded a new phenomenon, with organized far-right gangs confronting far-left activists in several cities.

Unfortunately, given that the government at all levels is pretty unwilling to let the police clear out the protesters with the necessary level of violence to actually accomplish that task, using the anti-Antifa to block the Antifa is necessary. Though I’ve seen hints that some shopkeepers are gathering their friends to help guard in the French gun-free version of rooftop Koreans,this is the first I’ve seen about volunteer organized resistance to the rioters.

"We knew there had been calls from numerous identity-based and nationalist movements to come out, officially, to defend businesses," he said. "In a number of cities, such as Nice and Montpellier, these groups arrived in organized formations, mainly to target the ultra-left movement."

A selloff in French government bonds paused on Monday after rating agency Moody's on Friday refrained from downgrading the country's sovereign debt.

But business leaders said the unrest was continuing to inflict heavy economic damage. Alain Di Crescenzo, head of the CCI La Belle France network of chambers of commerce and industry, said many retailers had remained closed as a precaution after the violence of October 17, adding this had led to sharp falls in sales.

"We have shopkeepers who are tired and demoralized, and we are killing local commerce," he told Radio Classique.

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Posted by: DarthVader 2026-10-27 13:28

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