To ask French Mumsnetters / parents how you're doing given today's protests?

[MistressoftheDarkSide]

Am starting this thread because I'm keeping an eye on both the Guardian live feed about the French student protests and Agenda Free TV on TouTube which is currently showing live feed from Toulouse.

My now adult kids were mid teens when we had the student lian protests here, and it was the devils own job preventing them trying to go to London. I was conflicted. On the one hand I admired the principles at play. On the other, protecting my offspring from themselves / the authorities / bad actors over rode that. And that was relatively small scale.

I know this is a complex situation and countrywide. I suppose I'm thinking in terms of solidarity with those with kids involved, or involved themselves as it's been reported parents and others are joining the protest, from the point of it being such a chaotic and scary situation. And I'd like to hear real thoughts from real people, as all media has different perspectives. Not a journalist, just a concerned human being, willing to listen to real thoughts and experiences from those in the vicinity.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/oct/06/europe-french-school-protests-paris-germany-afd-bulgaria-drones-russia-ukraine-latest-news-updates

They've said theyre going to allow pupils to talk about their feelings and demands in school and it will be taken into consideration 🙄.

There are presidential elections coming up in May, I suspect they will try and kick the ball along until then.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

What I wrote is demonstrable fact. The UK would be utterly fcked without it. We have the luxury of ripping it to bits. Both the left and the right level identical criticisms of its news. Which probably means it is doing exactly what it was set up to do.
It is fact that people all over the world, especially those for whom news is restricted, look to the BBC for reliable, factual news.

Sounds like an English comp education to me

No it’s actually not very good tbh

8-10 hours in school and class sizes of 40 are absolutely not happening in English state schools.

What do you think about the torching of Nelson Mandela High School in Nantes? From the images, the school building was beautiful, and quite recently built.

It's awful, there have been a lot of pupils talking about how upset they are about it. The people responsible are once again a small minority of troublemakers who are just there to shit stir. It's been the same in my town, the kids who were arrested last week are not the ones who are worried about teachers not being replaced (I teach middle school, they're my old pupils).

Many thanks to those bringing constructive and informative discourse.

To the quoted poster - obviously nothing about the entire situation is "good" but if change is required and voices need to be heard protest is a legitimate means. Todays included other organisations / unions, not just the school related issue. Given the instability in the world and all the division, there may well be agents provocateur in the mix too.

I'm not sure what your point is, but you do like to stir the pot..

Well the 40 class size was happening in my school. 8-10 hours a day at college because of breaks in between isn't unusual

I just don’t believe 40 is anything approaching normal in an English comps. Maybe under exceptional circumstances (eg we’ve collapsed classes in an emergency) but not routinely.

10 hours in college would mean from 8am until 6pm. I don’t believe that is happening with timetabled classes, even in 6th form college. And it definitely isn’t happening in English comps because teachers don’t work those hours.

My son is in the first year of lycee. He has 32 hours of lessons a week. Starts at 8am every day. Finishes at 4.35 or 5.35 except Wednesdays when he finishes at 12 (and does sport in the afternoon). In the nexr 2 years he will also have lessons on Wednesday afternoons.

How many hours a week do UK sixth formers have?

@JemimaTiggywinklesteachers do work those hours in the UK (and more!), but a fair bit of that is early in the morning, and when the kids go home. I work three days a week, and it adds up to around 30 hours a week in the school building.

I've never understood the long day in French schools, often just for four days a week, or 4.5, with Saturday morning in some schools. Then exceeedingly long school holidays.

The lycée timetable hours available are 8 to 18h30 Monday to Friday for 30+ hours of lessons. The timetables used to be designed as efficiently as possible so that pupils didn't have to spend too much time in school but that is no longer possible in many schools (especially big ones) due to all the different option combinations.

Please can someone explain the “parcoursup” thing and why this is an issue?

No the comps and primaries can be up to 40 ime. The hours are some college hours - with hours of breaks in the middle at odd times. As described in the french system being rioted about.

Same as you say here, for us. Except it's an 08:20 start.

40 in a class might happen but it is exceptional. 30 is pretty normal.

It used to be that if you passed your bac you could go to university and essentially do whatever course you wanted. It’s been reorganised so you apply through a portal, which is Parcoursup, and you are given places based on your reports over the final two years of lycée. It a very stressful and opaque system and if you don’t choose strategically you can be left with no place. There is definitely huge room for improvement.

Also French and also standing with the kids. We live in Paris and didnt see anything violent - mostly peaceful but there were reports. it was massive.

parcoursup is kind of like ucas except it doesn’t work, widens inequality and reduces kids to data.

Comps and primaries with classes of up to 40? Where?

This is going to sound really simple but if it’s been such a bad outcome can the government admit it’s not worked and go back to the old system???

So you think nobody should protest ever in case someone gets violent? I can’t work out if you’re just stirring, think everyone should be apathetic, or if it doesn’t affect you so nobody should care.

The old system meant hundreds in 1st year university classes and high dropout rates. There needs to be a selective system but this one isn’t working and kids feel their futures are being decided by an algorithm.

In their last year (terminale/upper 6th/Yr 13) all pupils who want to pursue their education input as many as 20 choices (it's a national database) into the Parcoursup platform.

They need to include motivational letters depending on what they want to go into.

Their grades from both years (première and terminale) and their bulletins (school reports) are also input with their teachers' opinion (avis très favorable, avis favorable etc.) into Parcoursup.

The algorithm sorts everything out and sends the info to the requested establishments (universities etc.).

If the parcours (place/degree) is in high demand, only the highest grades and avis très favorable are even considered.

Your grades depend very much on where you live and which lycée you to.

Some pupils are immediately accepted for up to amd including their 20 choices, and other pupils aren't even accepted anywhere amd usually end up on a waiting list.

As pupils accept a placement (can only accept one obviously) it frees up places for other pupils who then move up the waiting list.

This goes on for weeks (sometimes even months) and is hugely stressful for everyone. My DS's girlfriend didn't get a place until a couple of weeks before university started.

Some establishments require face to face interviews before offering places, frequently this happens all in the same week, some even on the same day (last year a pupil in my DD's school had an interview in the morning in Marseilles and in the afternoon in Gap).

I'm sure Im missing things out, but you get the idea.