The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, will hold a direct meeting this Friday afternoon with representatives of three student organizations to address with them the climate of strong social tension generated by the protests of high school students, which has been intensified by the adherence of dissent movements such as the 'yellow vests'.
The head of the organization Renouveau Lycéen, Nathanaël Combary, has explained that his collective, along with Les Lycéens and the Union of Secondary Student Unions, will sit down with the head of state starting at 3:00 PM, according to the BFM TV network.
Later, the Élysée confirmed through an official note that the president will meet with "high school students and representatives of student organizations" with the aim of "listening to the demands and concerns of the representatives of high school students."
The student organizations are demanding a profound transformation of secondary education, covering everything from the problem of overcrowding in classes to, mainly, the reform of the university access system (Parcoursup), which has been harshly criticized for the enormous "bottleneck" of applications it generates and for the complexity it poses for teachers to review all the applications.
The meeting between Macron and the students will take place just before the new day of large mobilizations called for Saturday. The Élysée is trying to contain these protests as much as possible, to the point that the president announced this morning the prohibition of all demonstrations promoted by non-union organizations. At the same time, the Ministry of the Interior has decided to extend the curfew in key areas of Paris until 6:00 AM on Monday.
Meanwhile, left and right formations in France have also expressed their discontent after the failed meeting held this Thursday with the Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu. According to complaints from, among others, La France Insoumise, the meeting did not produce any concrete progress to try to reduce the current tension.