Protests are escalating across France as students demand better school conditions. They began about a month ago at Lycée Saint-Exupéry, where students and teachers were tired of leaking ceilings, clogged toilets, no school nurse or deputy head teacher, and classrooms without air conditioning. France’s new phone ban only added to the frustration, prompting students to organize a blockade at the school’s entrance using trash cans. The movement quickly spread across France. Dubbed “May ‘six seven’” by some students, the demonstrations have reached around 600 high schools and 30 universities across 40 cities, attracting support from parents, teachers, and trade unions, too. Students are demanding better-maintained schools, smaller classes, more teachers, shorter school days and reform of Parcoursup, France’s widely criticized college admissions system. And although the government has promised to listen to proposals, more demonstrations are being planned, making one thing clear: promises aren’t enough. (The New Yorker)
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