Macron promises action as France tackles weeks of student protests

Summarised from 3 outlets · 5 reports · Updated 26 Oct, 14:07 · Archive

French President Emmanuel Macron said his government will announce 'strong' measures to address student demands after weeks of nationwide unrest.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that his government will announce 'concrete and strong' measures to address demands by high school students following weeks of nationwide protests over education standards and funding. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu met with student representatives on Monday afternoon and was scheduled to hold a news conference afterwards.

Macron acknowledged that the student movement had 'legitimate' grievances at its root, but warned that further demonstrations planned for Saturday posed risks to public order. The government said protest routes would remain outside city centres. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told broadcasters to expect continued disturbances, noting that Halloween evening on 31 October would 'be complicated again'.

The protests have escalated into violence, with demonstrations on 17 October descending into widespread rioting, looting and attacks in several major cities. Macron said French authorities had 'not anticipated' the scale of the unrest. He also highlighted the role of social media, saying online networks were 'damaging our democracies' by mobilizing people to places where 'criminal acts, attacks and looting' occurred.

How it is being reported

• French President promises 'concrete measures' in response to French students' demandsFrench President Emmanuel Macron said the government would announce “concrete measures" on Monday (October 26) to address school students’ demands after weeks of unrest. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu was scheduled to meet with students later Monday. FRANCE 24's Luke Shrago reports from the ground.France 24 · 26 Oct, 14:39
• France President Emmanuel Macron promises ‘strong measures’ to assuage protestsFrench President Emmanuel Macron promised new measures to address nationwide protests following 1,435 arrests during weekend demonstrations.New York Post · 26 Oct, 14:08
• France: Macron vows 'strong measures' to combat protestsFrench President Emmanuel Macron said his government will announce "strong measures" in response to violent protests in France in recent weeks. But he also acknowledged that students have "legitimate" grievances.DW News · 26 Oct, 13:52
• Macron vows ‘concrete’ measures to address student demands after unrestFrench President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said the government will announce "concrete and strong" measures to address the demands by high school students after their protests demanding better education conditions triggered weeks of nationwide unrest. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is set to hold a news conference after meeting with high school student unions.France 24 · 26 Oct, 12:25
• French PM meets student representatives after weeks of protestsFrench Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is set to meet with high school students on Monday afternoon (October 26) to ease tensions in the country after nearly a month of protests. This follows another meeting in which French president Emmanuel Macron promised a concrete response to demands for better education standards and funding.France 24 · 26 Oct, 12:20

In this story: Emmanuel Macron · Sébastien Lecornu · Laurent Nunez · Marine le Pen · France · Marseille

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