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Paris Protests - Should UK follow suit?

133 replies

blinkblinkblinkblink · 08/10/2026 15:39

I am following the coverage of the Paris education protests with interest. A lot of the triggers are failures the UK education system are making too (or at least GB, Im not so sure on N.Ire).

AIBU to think if the Paris Protests are successful, the UK should follow suit?

Our children deserve so much better!

OP posts:
PacificDinner · 10/10/2026 13:26

Anarchy99 · 10/10/2026 12:50

But people are supposedly better educated than ever and more people go to uni so why are so many kids NEET?

  1. Increase in National Insurance
  2. New Employment Rights Act
  3. Mental Health problems qualifying for PIP
blinkblinkblinkblink · 10/10/2026 13:42

Anarchy99 · 10/10/2026 12:51

If you think they are so right then by all means go over and support them.

Personally I would rather not see even more public money being wasted on this.

Support who? That's the point. Politicians are so focused on the here and now (to win votes) there is no one thinking long term to support!

You think spending more money on education is a waste???? I'm actually lost for words!

OP posts:
Therescathairinmybath · 10/10/2026 13:56

No. People in this country only want to go out onto the streets to protest against the war in the Middle East. Students here care more about the Palestinians than their own struggling education system.

RedLeicesterBlueCheese · 10/10/2026 13:56

blinkblinkblinkblink · 10/10/2026 13:42

Support who? That's the point. Politicians are so focused on the here and now (to win votes) there is no one thinking long term to support!

You think spending more money on education is a waste???? I'm actually lost for words!

Some education is a waste.
So many university courses that do not translate into skills and graduates are drowning in debt.

We need more vocational courses and apprenticeships that can lead to better employability.

LadyBlueberry · 10/10/2026 14:04

They're short of teachers in some areas of France because the memory of Samuel Paty has not gone away.

And if you think, OP, for one minute-that this violent behaviour which also involves robbing shops, is about lack of funding for education than I have a bridge to sell you.

But then, you don't do you...

blinkblinkblinkblink · 10/10/2026 16:24

RedLeicesterBlueCheese · 10/10/2026 13:56

Some education is a waste.
So many university courses that do not translate into skills and graduates are drowning in debt.

We need more vocational courses and apprenticeships that can lead to better employability.

And to do that, we need to... invest in education!

Take the recent DfE soundbite about schools providing vocational courses alongside GCSEs. No additional funding though, so how will schools pay additional teachers? How will they afford to provide fit-for-purpose workshops to deliver the lessons? How will they be able to afford the materials for practical courses when they can barely afford paper and pencils atm! It's an excellent idea, I fully support more vocational qualifications. But its not going to work without the funding to go with it.

OP posts:
Boppydoodah · 10/10/2026 20:36

Anarchy99 · 10/10/2026 12:01

What ‘civics education’?

So because some of the people are protesting peacefully, do we need to just accept that there will always be the violent element (Some of whom
believe in the cause every bit as much as the peaceful element)?

Is this the price we have to pay for ‘democracy’?

Because costing the state the extra for policing and damage repair does seem to defeat the object of it. So yes. They are stupid.

It is interesting that people on here claim to believe in a free press but then post about some channels or news outlets shouldn’t be allowed.

It's a course some countries have in high school, similar to politics 101 in university. It should be a compulsory part of education IMO.

And while police should be able to control or disperse violent elements of protests - and indeed do have those powers given to them by the state - not tolerating protest at all effectively removes your right to petition your government for redress, push for change and hold them to account. Removing that avenue if I'm remembering correctly puts you more into an authoritarian style of government rather than a democracy.

Protest is and always will be a vital part of ensuring your own freedoms. The alternative is the state or others can do whatever they like to you and your neighbors and friends won't or indeed can't say boo to a goose. Is that what you want?

Also I've never stated some press should not be allowed. What's interesting though is people looking at news coverage, or social media coverage, of riots and believing that's the whole story of what's going on.

Anarchy99 · Yesterday 14:01

Boppydoodah · 10/10/2026 20:36

It's a course some countries have in high school, similar to politics 101 in university. It should be a compulsory part of education IMO.

And while police should be able to control or disperse violent elements of protests - and indeed do have those powers given to them by the state - not tolerating protest at all effectively removes your right to petition your government for redress, push for change and hold them to account. Removing that avenue if I'm remembering correctly puts you more into an authoritarian style of government rather than a democracy.

Protest is and always will be a vital part of ensuring your own freedoms. The alternative is the state or others can do whatever they like to you and your neighbors and friends won't or indeed can't say boo to a goose. Is that what you want?

Also I've never stated some press should not be allowed. What's interesting though is people looking at news coverage, or social media coverage, of riots and believing that's the whole story of what's going on.

I don’t think anyone here believes they know the whole story.

But protests turn into riots, criminal damage and arrests and still the government won’t be able to magic up extra funding (unless of course they make more cuts or increase everyone’s taxes. I know it’s popular on here to say that paying extra tax is a good thing but most people in the real world will disagree.

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