‘Only victory will bring a return to calm:’ French students urged to barricade schools by protest organisers

‘Only victory will bring a return to calm:’ French students urged to barricade schools by protest organisers ‘Day of risk’ lies ahead after students reject government concessions, warns French president Emmanuel Macron - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in French students have been urged to barricade campus entrances and escalate nationwide disruptions by protest organisers, as the government scrambles to defuse a spiralling revolt that seen hundreds of thousands take to the streets. The call to step up direct action comes after prime minister Sébastien Lecornu offered a series of concessions to students on Monday afternoon. Rejecting the proposal, the Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL) — leading secondary school union behind the rolling unrest — has warned that piecemeal promises will not clear the streets. Tagging the prime minister directly on social media, the union delivered a blunt ultimatum late on Monday: “We want 10 billion, now.” The confrontation follows what organisers hailed as a historic “Black Day” of mobilisation, where 1,800 secondary schools nationwide were either barricaded, disrupted, or shut down by the education ministry, affecting up to 90 per cent of universities. Several children have been seriously injured during the protests, including a 15-year-old who lost his hand and part of his lower arm after picking up a police dispersal grenade. Hundreds of children have been arrested and held in police custody. More than five weeks after the start of such blockades, the government’s Monday offer promised to phase out the deeply unpopular Parcoursup university admissions algorithm by 2028, inject €5bn into school infrastructure repairs, and open up 15,000 new places in technical higher education. But the package was swiftly rejected across the student movement. High school and university unions — including the USL, Union Étudiante, UNEF, and Fage — have branded the measures a token gesture designed to buy off dissent, rather than resolve deep-rooted structural crises. “We have obtained crumbs compared to what we demanded,” said Clément Vieillot, a spokesperson for Cachan 94 — a grassroots highschool protest group. “The government’s strategy is to respond with crumbs, but we won't settle for that.” At the heart of the standoff is a joint manifesto championed by student groups carrying a total price tag of €10bn (£8.3bn) — more than double what the French treasury has put on the table. “Only victory will bring a return to calm,” the USL vowed ahead of the October 17 demonstrations. The coalition of unions is demanding an immediate emergency plan for deteriorating campus buildings, mass recruitment of teachers and medical staff, and the immediate creation of 150,000 places in higher education. The students are also demanding broader social safety nets, including a €200 monthly hike in maintenance grants, universal access to €1 canteen meals, and the complete withdrawal of anti-protest legislation targeting school blockades. With secondary school unions endorsing rolling disruptions, the youth movement risks fuelling wider social unrest across an already volatile domestic landscape, where violent protests, riots, and looting culminated in country’s worst day of violence in years on 17 October. Organisers have called for renewed weekend protests before joining forces with a major public-sector strike called by national trade unions, with the USL affirming it will back every local blockade until the government meets its demands. In an address on Monday, president Emmanuel Macron signalled the intensity of mobilisation will not ease, warning that protests on 31 October are expected to be a “day of risk”. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments