After freedom, we want to give our people something radical: a normal, functioning state
Two years ago, I harboured no political ambition whatsoever. I was a student at the faculty of technical sciences in Novi Sad, my home town, pursuing a PhD in human resources and simply living my life. That was until the canopy collapse at the newly renovated train station in Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people. I took part in street protests and rallies in response to this shocking event, and like many others, realised that it needed to be a turning point.
This was not an unavoidable tragedy. Systemic corruption and a culture of entrenched impunity were obvious factors in the collapse. But instead of ordering a full and impartial investigation and coming clean on official failings, the authorities began pushing back against us for demanding justice. We were vilified and attacked in the streets but law enforcement did nothing. So we took refuge in our lecture halls and schools, barricading ourselves inside faculty buildings, ready for a long haul.
Novak Simin is a member of Serbia’s Student List movement
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Student representatives dismissed the measures as insufficient and confirmed further protests and blockades.
On Monday morning, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu met with some students to brief them on measures he will announce during an afternoon meeting with high school student associations. The meeting, however, turned into a political setback for the administration of President Emmanuel Macron.
Student representatives said Lecornu was attempting to divide the protest movement by holding a meeting attended by people who lacked legitimacy and did not represent the movement.
The prime minister announced a reform of the university admissions system, with partial implementation in 2027 and more far-reaching changes in 2028. However, implementation of the proposal will depend on the government that emerges from the April-May presidential election.
Lecornu pledged to create 15,000 places in higher education, establish a 1-billion-euro investment plan to renovate high schools, and provide 4 billion euros in loans.
🔴️️ À Bordeaux, des manifestants lèvent les mains pour montrer leur caractère inoffensif, la police les charge et les gaze sauvagement
Partout en France, le mouvement populaire s'est amplifié. Les mêmes foules massives ont défilé pour exiger le blocage des prix, l'abrogation… pic.twitter.com/C9Cvuy2MB5
The text reads, “In Bordeaux, protesters raise their hands to show they pose no threat; the police charge at them and brutally gas them. Across France, the grassroots movement has gained further momentum. Massive crowds have taken to the streets to demand a price freeze, the repeal of the Parcoursup system, wage increases, and the inclusion in the budget of the 10 billion euros requested by high school and university students to address their demands.”
These measures come against the backdrop of a government seeking to gradually reduce the maximum number of students in high school classrooms to 28 and implement an emergency plan that will affect students in the country’s most disadvantaged areas.
Student representatives who questioned the legitimacy of the morning meeting stressed that their demands were more ambitious and dismissed the announcements made in advance as “crumbs.”
They are calling for the repeal of the current university admissions system, which they describe as opaque, and the creation of 250,000 places in higher education. “Our demand is clear: We want 10 billion euros and 10 measures that we have been calling for in various ministerial meetings,” they also emphasized.
Student representatives confirmed plans for protests on Oct. 31. Later, on Nov. 2, when classes resume after the school holidays, students will continue their high school blockades. On Nov. 5, student organizations will also join the general strike called by France’s main labor unions.
🔴 🗣 "10 milliards, 10 mesures, ni plus ni moins", clame Sabrine Kharbach, porte-parole de l'Union Étudiante. Les représentants de lycéens et étudiants s'expriment lors d'une conférence de presse en amont d'une réunion à Matignon #canal16pic.twitter.com/nmkMNERhZ3
The text reads, “’10 billion, 10 measures—no more, no less,’ declares Sabrine Kharbach, spokesperson for the Student Union. Representatives of high school and university students speak during a press conference held ahead of a meeting at Matignon.”
What French Students Are Demanding
In recent weeks, the High School Union (USL), the Student Solidarity collective, the National Union of Students of France (UNEF) and the Federation of General Student Associations (FAGE) have been the most determined groups in organizing mobilizations across France. They are demanding that the Macron administration implement the following 10 emergency measures:
1. An Emergency Plan to Renovate Schools and Universities
Launch an emergency plan to renovate dilapidated and unsanitary school and university buildings. Adapt educational institutions to the effects of climate change by installing air conditioning and cooling systems to cope with heat waves, as well as appropriate insulation and heating systems to withstand cold spells.
Ensure that every institution has the human and material resources necessary to maintain its facilities and provide clean, functional restrooms.
2. Mass Hiring of Education, Health, Support and Guidance Staff
Launch a large-scale recruitment plan for National Education personnel to guarantee, at a minimum, the following staffing levels at every institution: One nurse for every 500 students. One psychologist for every 500 students. One guidance counselor for every 500 students.
Create additional teaching positions rather than relying on contract workers, so that every class has a teacher and inequalities between institutions are eliminated. Also establish a formal employment status for support staff for students with disabilities (AESH) and create 800 additional positions.
3. Rethink School and University Schedules
Undertake a comprehensive overhaul of school schedules, building on the work of the Citizens’ Convention on Children’s Schedules for the National Education system, and launch a similar process for higher education to better respect students’ needs and well-being.
In particular, guarantee a lunch break of at least 1 1/2 hours so that every student can eat under appropriate conditions. Reverse the reforms of the baccalaureate and high school system.
4. End Selection Through Parcoursup and Mon Master. Create 250,000 Higher Education Places.
Eliminate selection through the Parcoursup and Mon Master platforms and create 250,000 additional places in higher education starting with the next academic year. This would allow high school students to access programs in their chosen fields without being subject to algorithmic selection and enable all students who wish to do so to continue their studies at the master’s level.
Retain centralized national application platforms to make available programs easier to identify, but eliminate selection. A high school diploma must guarantee access to a bachelor’s degree program, and a bachelor’s degree must guarantee access to a master’s program.
5. Overhaul High School Student Democracy to Ensure Genuine Participation in Decision-Making
Introduce list-based elections for the High School Student Council (CVL) and the Academic High School Student Council (CAVL) to ensure union representation, with representatives elected directly by all high school students in the relevant area. Increase the number of high school student seats on school boards. All high school students must be able to vote in CSE elections.
6. Increase Scholarships and Reinstate and Raise Housing Assistance for Everyone
Increase student scholarships by 200 euros per month, distribute them over 12 months and allow an additional 300,000 students to qualify for the scholarship system. Ultimately, establish a student autonomy income of 1,337 euros per month to guarantee every student the material resources necessary to pursue their studies. Abandon budgetary measures that reduce housing assistance for young people. Reinstate housing assistance (APL) for international students. Increase APL benefits and abandon changes to the calculation method that would deprive 147,000 students of this assistance.
7. Guarantee Effective Access to 1-Euro Meals for All Students
Guarantee effective access to 1-euro meals for students and provide the university services network with the resources necessary to meet demand.
8. Repeal the Welcome to France Plan, Which Introduces Differential Tuition Fees for International Students, and Eliminate the CVEC
Abolish the Welcome to France plan and its differential tuition fees for non-European students, which introduce a national-preference policy and a racist approach to higher education. Eliminate the Student and Campus Life Contribution (CVEC).
9. Freeze CROUS Rents, Make Rent Controls Permanent, and Massively Renovate and Build CROUS Housing
Reinstate the freeze on CROUS rents based on the rents frozen before 2023. Renovate unsanitary CROUS residences. Begin construction of 15,000 CROUS housing units starting in 2027. As an emergency measure, 10% of students must be able to obtain accommodation through CROUS.
10. End Repression and Police Violence Against the High School and Student Movement
End all forms of repression related to the high school and student movement. Ensure that law enforcement officers responsible for violence are prosecuted. Guarantee that absences related to mobilization are neither counted nor penalized.
More broadly, abandon all forms of repression in educational institutions and guarantee young people freedom of expression and freedom to organize, in direct contrast to the repression carried out in the struggle against the genocide in Palestine.
Despite job offers, Jaishree Malik has had visa renewal and extension requests delayed and denied, and she is not alone
Jaishree Malik bounds on to the Cheeky Monkey comedy club stage and brandishes an envelope – it is a letter from the Irish government. Would the audience like to hear what’s in the letter?
“Yeah,” the first rows reply. She repeats the question, prompting a louder response. “Yeah!”
Almost 1,000 arrested as police charge crowd in Paris and teargas used to stop protesters reaching other city centres
Hundreds of thousands marched in cities across France on Saturday in largely peaceful protests to support schoolchildren’s demands for more teachers and repairs to dilapidated buildings, as Emmanuel Macron faces a social and political crisis in his final months as president.
The prosecutor’s office in the southern city of Nice said on Sunday that 59 people had been taken into police custody, including 11 suspected of belonging to extreme-right groups. They were alleged to have gathered with the intent of committing violence. Some were arrested in two vehicles with masks, gloves, gas sprays and truncheons, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement to public broadcaster FranceInfo.
The European Parliament voted on Thursday, 22nd October, to support a €47.4 billion budget for the Erasmus+ programme between 2028 and 2034, demanding substantially more funding than proposed by the European Commission.
The parliamentary position was approved by 454 votes to 34, with 93 abstentions, following negotiations over the future of the EU’s principal education, training and student mobility programme.
MEPs are seeking approximately €6.56 billion more than the Commission’s proposed €40.83 billion allocation, arguing that existing financial support does not adequately reflect rising living costs and the expense of studying abroad.
The decision establishes Parliament’s negotiating position but does not represent final approval of the funding. The programme remains subject to negotiations with national governments and agreement on the EU’s next seven-year budget.
Rising living costs affect student mobility
Erasmus+ allows students, apprentices, teachers and other participants to study, train or gain professional experience in another participating country.
Although widely associated with university exchanges, the programme also supports vocational education, schools, adult learning, youth organisations and sporting activities.
Participation often involves substantial personal expenditure, particularly for accommodation, transport and everyday living expenses.
These costs vary considerably between European destinations, creating financial difficulties for students whose Erasmus grants cover only part of their expenses.
The European Parliament is consequently calling for support mechanisms that account for differences in housing and living costs between host countries, regions and cities.
The proposal is intended to make participation more accessible to people who cannot rely on additional financial assistance from their families.
The European Parliament’s research service has identified unequal access, financial limitations and administrative complexity among the challenges facing the programme.
The proposed legislation would also establish a target under which at least 20 per cent of participants in mobility activities would be people facing fewer educational or economic opportunities.
Parliament seeks larger education allocation
The parliamentary proposal provides for approximately €47.39 billion in current prices over seven years.
The Commission originally proposed approximately €40.83 billion, combining funding for Erasmus+ with activities currently administered through the European Solidarity Corps.
According to the report prepared by Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education, the revised programme would include more explicit financial allocations for different activities.
Education and training would account for approximately 74.6 per cent of the proposed financial envelope, while youth and volunteering would receive around 15 per cent. Sport would receive approximately 4.1 per cent.
The proposed allocation structure is intended to provide greater certainty for organisations planning longer-term educational projects and cross-border partnerships.
Polish MEP Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski, of the European People’s Party, is Parliament’s rapporteur on the legislation. His report calls for greater transparency over expenditure and more predictable funding arrangements.
The programme would continue supporting European university alliances, international educational cooperation and initiatives intended to improve professional skills.
Volunteering and vocational training
One proposed change concerns the integration of the European Solidarity Corps into the wider Erasmus+ framework.
The Solidarity Corps currently offers young people opportunities to participate in volunteering and community activities, including projects addressing social and humanitarian needs.
The Commission has proposed bringing these activities within the new programme in an attempt to simplify administration.
However, parliamentarians want safeguards to ensure that volunteering remains identifiable and accessible within the broader funding structure.
The parliamentary position also seeks to extend mobility opportunities across vocational training, adult education and sport.
These activities would allow a wider range of participants to benefit from international placements, including people outside conventional university education.
Additional attention is being given to the financial circumstances of participants and the administrative requirements faced by smaller educational organisations.
Dispute over the EU’s next budget
The Erasmus+ negotiations are taking place against the background of a wider dispute over the European Union’s 2028–2034 financial framework.
Member states are debating the overall size of the budget and the competing demands of agricultural policy, regional development, defence, research and education.
As EU Today recently examined, the negotiations have exposed disagreements over whether the EU should expand its financial commitments or constrain expenditure during a period of pressure on national finances.
Parliament’s Erasmus+ proposal will therefore depend not only on agreement over educational priorities but also on the final distribution of resources across the wider EU budget.
Some governments may support broader participation while resisting the full increase requested by MEPs.
What happens next?
Negotiations must establish the programme’s final budget, eligibility rules and the arrangements governing grants after 2027.
The Council has already developed a negotiating position on aspects of the programme, although financial questions remain connected to the broader budget settlement.
Erasmus+ will mark its 40th anniversary in 2027, shortly before the new framework is scheduled to begin.
More than 17 million people have participated in the programme and its related activities since its establishment.
The outcome of the current negotiations will determine whether the next generation of participants receives more financial support and whether the programme can expand without increasing the proportion of costs borne by students and their families.
Officials will call on UK to ‘step up’ financial support at Brussels summit – with post-Brexit issues also on agenda
EU leaders will press Andy Burnham at a summit in Brussels to contribute more to Ukraine’s defence effort in 2027.
EU officials argue that the UK, Canada and Japan should do more to support Ukraine, but entreaties to these G7 countries for extra financial aid at recent international meetings have not been answered, Brussels says.
Visa quotas, university fees and NHS surcharges remain sticking points ahead of post-Brexit negotiations next month
A deadline for a youth mobility scheme between the EU and the UK could be deferred by six months in a bid to ensure Andy Burnham has a successful “reset” summit on 20 November, diplomats have said.
EU ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday heard that the UK was still insisting on international tuition fees, quotas and an NHS surcharge for EU students. This has fuelled fears the summit could fail, just as the prime minister is promising to unveil a new vision for Britain’s long-term relationship with the EU.
Emmanuel Macron has said “illegitimate” demonstrations will be banned over the coming days as France seeks to get a grip on civil unrest after some of its worst street violence in years erupted on the fringes of cost of living protests at the weekend.
Speaking after a meeting with intelligence officials and senior ministers, the French president said on Thursday that demonstrations organised by recognised groups would be allowed to go ahead, although their routes could be changed.
Thousands of teachers, pupils, students and their parents but also civil servants including health personnel, pensioners and workers joined their voices in protesting the high cost of living, demanding better education conditions, higher salaries and lower housing costs. Τhe protests followed the 24-hour strike called by the primary and secondary teachers unions. In Athens, Thessaloniki […]
Teachers will launch a 24-hour strike across Greece on Wednesday, October 21, protesting against staff shortages in schools, issues within educational infrastructure, excessive class sizes, and persistent inadequacies regarding school facilities in many parts of the country. The teachers will be supported in their strike by pupils and university students as well as left-wing parties, […]
Young people have been taking to the streets across Europe, including in Spain, France and Portugal, to protest over their unhappiness at the state of schools and the wider cost of living crisis.
In France, high school pupils have clashed with police in often violent protests over long hours, missing teachers, dilapidated classrooms and an opaque university admissions system. Pupils routinely miss months of teaching due to unfilled staff absences.
Oxford University has told staff not to use common phrases such as "learn the ropes" or "find your feet" over fears they confuse foreign students, sparking concern at the new scheme of language policing.
School ceilings keep falling on students’ heads across the country in the last couple of days, where such incidents are being reported on a daily basis. Shortly before classes ended for the weekend, a large piece of plaster fell from the ceiling injuring a 14-year-old student. The boy at Thermi Gymnasium by Thessaloniki was hit […]
The report documents Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza’s educational system and examines how this policy forms an integral part of Israel’s ongoing genocide. By July 2026, Israel had killed over 20,051 students, over 830 teachers & educational staff, and over 194 scholars...
Field marshal meets multinational Harvard Business School delegation to discuss regional security, global challenges and Pakistan’s development potential.
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