The National Assembly of France has confirmed that next Wednesday a specific debate will be held on the reform of secondary education that students in the country have been demanding for weeks. However, the session will not conclude with a vote, a format that has provoked harsh criticism from left-wing parties such as La France Insoumise.
According to details provided by the Ministry of Relations with Parliament in a statement sent to French media, the debate will start at 5:00 PM at the initiative of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, and it will take place without the text being submitted for approval by the deputies.
For the general coordinator of La France Insoumise, Manuel Bompard, any parliamentary discussion that does not translate into a vote on the controversial platform Parcoursup, a symbol of a complex system for accessing higher education that has generated rejection among students and teachers, "will be nothing more than a new exercise in deception."
"We officially request that it be followed by a vote, as allowed by the Constitution," Bompard insisted in messages posted on social media, demanding that the Government take a clear commitment before the Chamber.
Measures in preparation and pending announcements
In parallel to the announcement of the debate, the Prime Minister held a new round of contacts with student associations at the Matignon residence on Monday, awaiting the appearance that the Ministers of Education and Higher Education, Edouard Geffray and Philippe Baptiste, will offer this afternoon. The meeting comes after President Emmanuel Macron announced from Marseille "strong announcements" to respond to the "legitimate demands" of students.
After the meeting with Lecornu, activist and influencer Mathilde Fouqué explained to the French press that the Executive is currently working on five possible measures. Among them is the replacement or a profound reform of the functioning of Parcoursup, as well as the creation of 15,000 new places in higher education to alleviate overcrowding in centers and faculties.
The package would also include a plan for the modernization of educational infrastructures valued at 5 billion euros, of which 1 billion would be allocated to the renovation of universities until 2031 and the rest would be structured through loans for institutes. As a final measure, the Government is considering that scholarships for students be indexed to inflation, with the aim of preserving their purchasing power.