French government to announce concrete measures to end student crisis

The French government will present concrete responses to a five-week student and high school crisis on Monday, October 26, 2026. The mobilization began with school blockades and spread nationwide.

Education Minister Édouard Geffray and Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste will deliver the government's conclusions at a press conference scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Their announcements are expected to cover Parcoursup, university buildings and the number of university places.

“There will be announcements and there will be important and strong proposals, including on the question of Parcoursup and more broadly on orientation.”

Before the press conference, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will receive high school organizations and then student organizations successively at Matignon starting at 2:30 p.m. The government hopes to close the crisis with these meetings.

Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon promised important and strong proposals, including on Parcoursup and student orientation more broadly. She made the commitment on RTL on Monday morning.

The crisis began on September 17 at a high school in the Paris suburbs and led to large demonstrations across the country on October 17. Those protests were accompanied by break-ins and looting on their margins.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez remained on the front line on Saturday, October 24, during processions without major incidents despite several hundred thousand people in the streets. The executive focused heavily on public order issues.

The government opened a platform on October 5 to respond to the high school crisis. It closed on Friday with approximately 100,000 contributions.