French students continue protests against education reform

French students hit the streets of Paris on Tuesday to protest President Emmanuel Macron's plan for education reform.


Several universities across the country were blocked as students joined rail workers in rejecting the wave of social reforms proposed by Macron's government.

Amongst the most debated issues of Macron's education plan are the revamping of the end of high school Bacalaureat exam and access to higher education.

"The reform introduced the fact that the criteria used to select students is going to be based on the marks of their last years of high school, on their motivation and teacher's opinions, and not at all on the baccalaureat," explained David Garibay, Professor of Political Science at Lyon 2 Unversity.


"Some of my colleagues were against the reform from the start, others were rather convinced but they've started to realise that they've got limited maneuvering space and that they can't do much" he added.


Also under attack is the new Parcoursup online platform designed to streamline the university admission process its been criticised for various glitches.

Beyond the parcoursup reform and the student movement, another point that has come up at the general assemblies is the violence that has ocurred in some French universities when police has intervened.