In brief

• The French government has announced concessions to striking students, including smaller freshman classes and extra funding for school and university buildings.
• The package includes 4 billion euros in loans for schools through 2030, an extra billion for universities by 2029, and 15,000 new university places.
• The government also plans to replace the Parcoursup admissions platform by autumn 2028, while student unions say protests will continue.

Government announces first major concessions

The French government has made its first significant concessions to students who have been protesting for weeks. Freshman classes at public high schools are to be limited to 28 pupils, down from an average of above 30 (France made its first major concessions to the student protests roiling the nation – Wall Street Journal). Education Minister Edouard Geffray acknowledged that pupils were under heavy strain, pointing to an analysis of more than 100,000 submissions to a digital complaints platform set up for the protests (Schülerproteste in Frankreich: Fünf-Punkte-Plan, aber noch kein Befreiungsschlag – tagesschau.de).

Funding for buildings and staff

To address the state of school buildings, the government plans to offer regional authorities loans worth 4 billion euros at favourable rates through 2030 (Frankreich: Regierung reagiert mit Bildungsreformen auf anhaltende Schulproteste – DER SPIEGEL) (Frankreich - Nach Protesten: Regierung kündigt Reformen im Bildungswesen an – Deutschlandfunk). Universities are to receive an additional billion euros for renovations by 2029. Planned cuts to education posts will be reversed, and hundreds of new teaching positions are to be created. In total, the package includes 15,000 new university places.

Changes to university admissions

The most controversial element concerns the Parcoursup online platform, which allocates university places and has been criticised for lacking transparency. The government intends to replace it by autumn 2028. Higher education minister Philippe Baptiste said major changes would be introduced as early as next year, and that rejected applicants will in future receive written reasons. Student financial aid is also to be adjusted for inflation.

Unions want more

Student unions welcomed the package as a step forward but made clear the fight is not over. Marius Mesnil of the Union syndicale lycéenne, the largest pupils' union, said the mobilisation had already yielded results on teacher shortages, class sizes and building renovation. Protest organisers have called for further demonstrations, and a new march is planned for Saturday.