France student unions call high school blockades from Monday

High school blockades will restart across France from Monday, the head of a student group said, after the government's latest proposals failed to satisfy a protest movement over living costs and conditions in schools.

Pierre Sourzat, head of the Lycéens! group, told broadcaster RMC on Sunday that some schools would be blocked as soon as students return from a two-week holiday. "It will be more significant from Tuesday, but we know that some schools will be blocked as early as tomorrow," he said. "We support all our comrades who are blocking their schools from tomorrow."

Sabrine Kharbach, spokeswoman for the Union Etudiante, said on Saturday that universities and high schools would be blockaded on Tuesday and Thursday, France 24 and CNA reported.

The action follows a third consecutive weekend of demonstrations. France 24 reported that some 320,000 people took part in largely peaceful protests on Saturday, while CNA described the crowds as hundreds of thousands. High school and university students marched alongside labour unions and the Yellow Vest movement, which takes its name from the fluorescent jackets French drivers are required to carry.

The movement began with weeks of high school demonstrations against deteriorating learning conditions and inequality, and widened into a protest against soaring prices.

On Monday the government announced measures it said addressed the students' demands, including replacing the university admissions platform and providing loans for school renovations. Students said the proposals did not go far enough.

President Emmanuel Macron has called for classes to resume in a calm manner, arguing that "young people have been heard".

Sourzat rejected that. "The president hasn't listened to us," he said. "It's smoke and mirrors. There's a bit of polish on the surface, but once you scratch beneath it, there's nothing there."

He said the planned overhaul of the admissions platform, long criticised for its lack of transparency, did not address the shortage of places in higher education. He also dismissed the government's promise to reduce class sizes, noting it would apply only to 10th-grade classes. "We were asking for all year groups," he said.

The government has limited room to spend more. France is the eurozone's second-largest economy, is on the brink of recession and is under pressure to rein in its debt, France 24 and CNA reported.