'Smoke and mirrors': French students to resume school blockades from Monday

High school blockades in France are set to resume on Monday, November 2, as student groups step up protests against rising prices, inequality and deteriorating education conditions.Pierre Sourzat, head of the student group Lycéens!, said some schools would be blocked when students return from a two-week holiday, with more disruptions expected from Tuesday, according to a report by France 24."It will be more significant from Tuesday, but we know that some schools will be blocked as early as tomorrow," Sourzat told broadcaster RMC on Sunday."We support all our comrades who are blocking their schools from tomorrow," he added.The announcement came a day after hundreds of thousands of people, including high school and university students, took to the streets across France for a third consecutive weekend of protests. Around 320,000 demonstrators participated in largely peaceful rallies on Saturday.Student groups have rejected the government's proposals to address their demands, saying the measures fall short of what they had sought. On Monday, the government announced plans to replace the university admissions platform and provide loans for school renovations.Sabrine Kharbach, spokeswoman for the Union Etudiante (Student Union), said on Saturday that universities and high schools would face blockades on Tuesday and Thursday.French President Emmanuel Macron has urged students to return to classes peacefully, arguing that "young people have been heard".However, Sourzat disagreed, saying "the president hasn't listened to us"."It's smoke and mirrors," he said. "There's a bit of polish on the surface, but once you scratch beneath it, there's nothing there."Sourzat said the proposed overhaul of the university admissions platform, which has faced long-standing criticism over its lack of transparency, did not address the shortage of places in higher education.He also dismissed the government's plan to reduce class sizes, saying it would apply only to 10th-grade classes."We were asking for all year groups," he said.The protest movement initially emerged from weeks of student demonstrations over worsening learning conditions and inequality. It has since grown into a broader campaign against soaring prices.The government faces limited room to offer further concessions as France's economy, the second-largest in the eurozone, stands on the brink of recession. It is also under pressure to rein in public debt.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.