Across France, student protesters and supporters have been gathering since 21 September demanding accountability for poor classroom conditions, staff shortages, and an intransparent university application system, amongst other reasons. The question now is not whether the protests are justified, rather if the escalated level is reasonable. Another is whether blame falls on a singular body, or if there is plenty to go around.
As a student myself (albeit not in France), I believe that students don’t flood the streets for no reason. If there has been a lot of action against education officials and systems in recent times (such as in India, and in the UK), then it’s certainly worth listening to what so many students have to say. Thinking of France, shouldering the criticism appears to be a difficult task for those in charge. Édouard Geffray, the French education minister whose system is currently under fire, had several things to say about the protests. Nothing that he expressed about reform was as concrete as his condemnation of the students’ methods, stating: “One of the difficulties of this movement is that there are no national demands. It all started with local demands.” Perhaps the localised demands are loudest because the system has been accused of providing certain areas—usually those less affluent—with worse conditions to study in than what the rest receive.
The world saw that Minister Geffray’s reaction fell short of addressing the disproportionately violent tactics deployed by police officers against youth directly under his care. His main concern seemed to be to ask parents to keep their children at home and off the streets, “because they are in danger.” In danger how, one could ask, but we know. The papers are brimming with news about the police officer who seemingly fired rubber bullets at a 14-year-old. There was the 15-year-old who lost an arm, and a 16-year-old who lost his right eye. The students are in danger of running into hostile officers, who have responded to methods of protest—which were largely stone-throwing and wheelie-bin barricading—with guns and tear gas.
How did such a mass failure come to be? Well, I think that the blame lies squarely with the system. Have a look at Minister Geffray’s plans for moving forward. It was announced that a portal would be set up for students to make their grievances known. The hopes for resolution were that “problematic situations” would be put to rest by 16 October. From the time that these hopes were recorded, the count is 11 days. Eleven days to solve the “problematic situations” that have cropped up. If the minister is confident that the French state will be able to quell a movement so heated (and justified!) in 11 days, then why has his ministry waited until the issues were brought to the doorstep instead of being proactive? The students cannot be blamed for protesting the gaps in the system—no, we must instead ask why the system did not identify those gaps first.
“france-protests-24 NOV 2018” by KRIS AUS 67 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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France faces its students. When will its system face accountability?
Across France, student protesters and supporters have been gathering since 21 September demanding accountability for poor classroom conditions, staff shortages, and an intransparent university application system, amongst other reasons. The question now is not whether the protests are justified, rather if the escalated level is reasonable. Another is whether blame falls on a singular body, or if there is plenty to go around.
As a student myself (albeit not in France), I believe that students don’t flood the streets for no reason. If there has been a lot of action against education officials and systems in recent times (such as in India, and in the UK), then it’s certainly worth listening to what so many students have to say. Thinking of France, shouldering the criticism appears to be a difficult task for those in charge. Édouard Geffray, the French education minister whose system is currently under fire, had several things to say about the protests. Nothing that he expressed about reform was as concrete as his condemnation of the students’ methods, stating: “One of the difficulties of this movement is that there are no national demands. It all started with local demands.” Perhaps the localised demands are loudest because the system has been accused of providing certain areas—usually those less affluent—with worse conditions to study in than what the rest receive.
The world saw that Minister Geffray’s reaction fell short of addressing the disproportionately violent tactics deployed by police officers against youth directly under his care. His main concern seemed to be to ask parents to keep their children at home and off the streets, “because they are in danger.” In danger how, one could ask, but we know. The papers are brimming with news about the police officer who seemingly fired rubber bullets at a 14-year-old. There was the 15-year-old who lost an arm, and a 16-year-old who lost his right eye. The students are in danger of running into hostile officers, who have responded to methods of protest—which were largely stone-throwing and wheelie-bin barricading—with guns and tear gas.
How did such a mass failure come to be? Well, I think that the blame lies squarely with the system. Have a look at Minister Geffray’s plans for moving forward. It was announced that a portal would be set up for students to make their grievances known. The hopes for resolution were that “problematic situations” would be put to rest by 16 October. From the time that these hopes were recorded, the count is 11 days. Eleven days to solve the “problematic situations” that have cropped up. If the minister is confident that the French state will be able to quell a movement so heated (and justified!) in 11 days, then why has his ministry waited until the issues were brought to the doorstep instead of being proactive? The students cannot be blamed for protesting the gaps in the system—no, we must instead ask why the system did not identify those gaps first.
Make federalism great again
“france-protests-24 NOV 2018” by KRIS AUS 67 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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