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

So long as you can remain consistent when judging all protests, that get out of hand.

That sounds almost exactly like the UCAS system and applying to university here in the UK.

Except is max 5 choices. Perhaps they need to do that. Still stressful though.

The issues are being reported pretty clearly in serious media. Kids are fed up with large class sizes, dilapidated buildings, lack of teachers and long school hours.

if you’re not hearing about the actual causes then where are you getting your information?

@AlicePottery

Thanks. sounds a bureaucratic nightmare.

I'm getting my information from The Times and The Guardian, do they count as acceptable sources for you? I've certainly seen claims about those things (I've also seen claims suggesting that the true situation is not as black and white tbh), but the details I've read on this thread are mostly new to me.

French students definitely work a longer day but I’m pretty sure they get more holidays throughout the year (and bank holidays)

It must be really bad to have come to this.💞

consistent includes judging people’s motivations / what they are protesting. Not all causes are equal. A neo nazi demonstration? Judge away. Kids protesting about school conditions? Go for it.
And then there are behaviours -Anyone turning up just to trash things and hit people? Judge away, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the protesters aren’t there for a good reason. If you were walking along the street peacefully with a banner reading ‘better maternity care on the nhs’, some public nuisance maker threw a few punches further down the line, you’d be furious at being tagged a violent trouble maker who should have stayed home.

I tried going to sleep to no avail 😅

2 weeks at toussaint (All Saints)
1st (usually during holidays) & 11th November
2 weeks at Christmas
2 weeks in February
Easter Monday (sometimes during holidays)
2 weeks around Easter
1st (sometimes during holidays) & 8th May
Ascension Thursday (plus Friday & Saturday)
Whit Monday (although technically teachers catch this up at some point in one form or another).
July & August (teachers work during the first week of July and only primary kids go in that week). Many pupils stop coming in mid June and the ones in seconde (yr10) officially stop around then.

But France like the UK is bankrupt.

Where do you think the money should come from?

Education is not a luxury. It is a necessity for the future of any nation. It is sad that kids are having to protest to get it.🫤

My kids were aghast when I told them what it was about. They went off muttering that they wouldn't be protesting for more school and that French people love an aul riot.
🤣🤣😬

We do love a strike.
my kids grew up in England and say we ‘faire du smashy smash’ eg f**ck shit up.
it has made me proud to be French that most are supporting our kids.
education is a right not a commodity

Attempted french pension reforms to try to get the pension age nearer to that of other countries and things like parcoursup (which does put kids in the same positon they find themselves in with UCAS) seem understandable to people from other countries because they've had these sorts of systems for ages, but feel wildly unjust when such changes are imposed, not least in a culture where the need to protest is deeply embedded. Just like in the UK and other countries, there's a question of where the funds get allocated - it's impossible for it to carry on as it is, triple locks and retirement at 60 with a larger than ever eldery population etc does eat into what is available for the young, of course it does. The kids are right to protest about absent teachers, 40 in a class, poor quality facilities, lack of care etc. on top of a uncertain future. The violence from certain activists and the heavy-handed police response is clearly very regrettable. It's not a joke. It's violently manifesting something that is affecting millions of people in many different countries.

This. I was reading yesterday that the protesters have burnt down a brand new 80 million Euro school that had just been built.

There are always going to be posters who believe protesters deserve what they get. At least those who live and work in France are telling us what the issues are and what's happening from their own personal and professional experience.

Im not an expert on parcoursup as DS is npt yet concerned but I have heard many horror stories from friends.

I think the big difference between parcoursup and ucas, is that with ucas, students have to narrow down their offers to 2. Whereas parcoursup they don't. Offers are kept open until after the Bac.

My friend's daughter went into her Bac exams knowing she was only on the waiting list for all of her university choices, and her best position on the waiting list was number 6000.

This is exactly what was reported on 5 live and the TV news yesterday. That and disproportionate violence by police and in a few cases retaliation by protesters. Which seems accurate? Not sure what you are seeing reported about thus or where?

Ive always admired the French and their willingness to protest tbh. Under the pavement the beach and all that…

English comp to age 16.
25 hrs education per week usually something like 8.45-3, no free periods, short breaks incl short lunch.
Standard class size 30, may be more or less for some subjects.
At GCSE subject choice is restricted by school timetabling so not all theoretical options actually possible.

16-19, A levels about 5hrs per subject (3 or 4), potentially lots of trapped time or restrictions on subject choice.
16-19 Vocational about 15-18 teaching hours but compressed into 3 or maybe 4 days, with clear day for part time work experience.

French schools currently seem worse, and i understand from radio their PISA scores are declining.

I sont understand the 80 million euros figure… i am a parent givernor in a large secondary school in the uk (and im french) - the cost of the entire rebuild (destruction of school, temporary building, construction of new school incl two inclusive provisions) total cost is £17 million. When i look at benchmarking figuresfor the uk, that cost is average.

so that 80 million euros figure must be wrong - i wonder which media reported it, some are not accurate or maybe they have included a lot of other things in it…

YABU.

The NYT had a piece on the protests today. Their take is that France is so broke it’s in serious long term trouble and that the French can’t accept they can’t afford to run their generous public institutions the way they always have.
Agree that it’s admirable that they have their protest and revolution culture but how does that square with them needing to accept economic realities?
Inevitably people look for something to blame when they can’t get what they want. Old people? Immigrants? The far right is doing well there.

It's France. They build a barricade at the drop of a hat. It's why they have a better and earlier state pension than us, as well as more supportive social security generally.

The tutting and pearl clutching about protesting on here has helped the British working people having our conditions worsened by years of right wing governments.

The issue is for France is how high it pushes their debt. And how the gov will respond to these protests if they can’t find more money.

Their finances are fucked though - they can't afford it.

Afford? Where do you think funds for public services come from? It isnt a zero sum game.