France is gearing up for another round of anti-austerity mobilizations on Saturday, October 31. As the weekend approaches, President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu have still not substantially addressed the protest demands tabled by the student movement. 

For the past weeks, students and their organizations have taken to the streets in the hundreds of thousands, denouncing the state of the education sector, including overcrowded classrooms, overworked teachers, and dilapidated buildings. Authorities have responded with a full-blown crackdown – police violence, curfews, and protest bans – while avoiding meaningful conversation about the protests’ causes.

“The authorities’ top priority is to strip the movement of the political meaning it carries: the condemnation of the neoliberal policy that has ruined the French education system,” presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon pointed out in a recent interview. “Young people are pulling at the thread of a larger unraveling.”

Government tried to break student unity

Lecornu and his ministers called a meeting with high school and university student groups on Monday, announcing the government was ready to open dialogue on their demands. Yet even before the meetings kicked off, a list of government-proposed measures published by the media only fueled frustration. 

These measures included a transparency-oriented reform of the higher education recruitment platform Parcoursup, the creation of 15,000 additional higher education placements, low-interest loans to regional authorities for renovating school infrastructure, and the indexation of grants to inflation.

Read more: Students in France are fighting for stronger public education

Students criticized the officials for attempting to set a negotiation agenda before even speaking to them. They also called them out for trying to break their unity by organizing separate meetings with different groups instead of a joint discussion. In this process, they emphasized, crucial voices were left out. 

Among others, the Fédération Lycéenne des Quartiers (FLQ), representing high school students from working-class neighborhoods – the demographic group from which the protest wave originated – was not invited to meet Lecornu. Students interpreted this as yet another sign of the government’s failure to grasp what is at stake. “They see us first and foremost as ‘young people from the banlieues,’ rather than young people who, like everyone else, want to make their voices heard,” FLQ’s Soumaya Sarré told Mediapart. 

“Crumbs” instead of solutions

The way meetings were set up was not the only problem. Following the publication of the government’s proposals, the university students’ association Union Étudiante described them as “crumbs” and detailed how they fail to address the movement’s concerns. 

“There are not 15,000 places missing but at least 250,000,” the organization warned. “Where are those 250,000 places needed for young people who have been denied their right to education because of classist and racist selection?” 

Union Étudiante similarly criticized the lack of clarity surrounding proposed financing for infrastructure investment, employment plans, and the promise to “reform” rather than abolish Parcoursup. 

This last demand has become emblematic for the student movement over the past weeks of protest. Young people on the streets have repeatedly explained how the tool allows university selection to maintain racist and classist tones – all while pushing tens of thousands of students without placements toward the private sector. 

“We are not asking for a reform that offers more transparency or clarity; we already know how the selection process works, and it will remain unjust even if the selection criteria are made public,” Union Étudiante wrote. “The problem is selection itself. Why should young people be denied the right to pursue higher education? We must abolish all forms of selection while keeping a centralized platform for enrolling in academic programs.” 

Mobilizations against racism and the far right

Trade unions and progressive organizations continue to support the students ahead of Saturday’s demonstrations, while building toward a general strike on November 5. The networks remain connected over shared austerity-related problems, linking budget cuts in public services, attacks on pensions, and precarious working conditions. 

In between regular nationwide mobilizations, the past few days have also seen significant protests against racism and the far right. After a racist attack in the Trappes working-class suburb of Paris last Friday – where one person was killed and five, including a 12-year-old, were seriously injured – calls are circulating for solidarity assemblies. 

“This crime did not come out of nowhere,” wrote Saint-Denis mayor Bally Bagayoko. “For years, the perpetrator blamed ‘Black people and Arabs’ for all his misfortunes.”

“He claimed he wanted to avenge a looting that never actually happened – a piece of false information broadcast on television,” he added.

“This hatred has its architects: those who, hour after hour on the airwaves, designate our neighborhoods as the problem and ‘the other’ as a threat.”

Read more: Students across the US South demand justice for Nolan Wells

The far-right National Rally – whose program ahead of the 2027 presidential election endorses exactly this vision of “the other” – held its congress in Orléans over the October 24-25 weekend. Approximately 26,000 people joined a local march against the policies endorsed by the party, signaling continuous resistance in the lead-up to the April 2027 presidential election.

Serbia’s longtime leader, President Aleksandar Vucic, conceded defeat Sunday to the student-led opposition in an election that sent shock waves throughout Europe and the Western Balkans.

"We do not have the final results yet, and many people will be surprised. Based on a stratified sample, it is clear that we have lost these elections. The student-led protest list has won," Vucic said in an address to the nation Sunday night.

The Student List victory brings an end to 14 years of Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party rule, in what many are saying is the biggest political shake-up in the Balkans since the toppling of Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. 

Observers say the Student List party's policies remain vague, which has some worried about Serbia's future.

Ana Brnabic, vice president of the main Board of the Serbian Progressive Party, told Fox News Digital that, "The election victory of the Student List recalls similar electoral triumphs in other countries. The Student List represents a classical anti-establishment movement: it had neither a program nor a coherent political ideology. In an essentially anarchic fashion, it opposed everything, claiming to fight for justice and against corruption."

ANTI‑CORRUPTION PROTESTS HIT EUROPEAN NATION AS CALLS FOR NEW ELECTIONS GROW

She added, "After 14 years of Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) rule, people may have wanted change. That is understandable and logical. But the grim consequences of this movement in power will soon become apparent."

Turnout reached 69 %, the highest this century, with more than 4.4 million people casting their ballots, according to Rasa Nedeljkov, head of the CRTA Election Observation Mission.

"This is by all means a historic victory and indeed a surprise to many. While it was clear from the beginning that the students will have an impressive result, very few expected a landslide," Helena Ivanov, associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.

The Election Observation Mission reported that the Student List won 52.45 % of the vote and is projected to hold 138 of 250 seats in the National Assembly, an absolute majority, allowing it to form a government on its own.

Vucic won 39.2 % and is projected to hold 103 seats.

Supporters celebrated throughout Belgrade and across Serbia as it became clear the Student List won by a larger margin that caught many experts and observers by surprise.

Many claimed they were concerned about the possibility of violence escalating as polls began to close. Almost two hours after polling stations closed, Vucic addressed the nation, confirming his defeat and announcing the peaceful transfer of power.

FRANCE ROCKED BY STUDENT RIOTS AS HUNDREDS ARRESTED, VIOLENCE SPREADS NATIONWIDE

"The path to an electoral victory with such a decisive margin will undoubtedly earn its own chapter in the handbooks on how to topple an autocrat. Two years of unprecedented grassroots mobilization, creative organization and impeccable campaigning kept the student list two steps ahead of the regime. Vučić was left playing catch-up, and all his attempts to co-opt, demoralize and fragment the movement failed," Sinisa Vukovic, director of the Global Policy Program at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, told Fox News Digital.

The CRTA Election Observation Mission reported that the campaign was marked by the abuse of state resources, pressure on candidates and voters, attempts to bring the media under total government control, and attacks on independent election observers.

Tens of thousands of Serbians volunteered to run and monitor polling stations across the country, and the vote was mostly peaceful.

SERBIA, CAUGHT BETWEEN EUROPE AND RUSSIA, COULD MOVE ONE STEP CLOSER TO NORMALIZING RELATIONS WITH KOSOVO

Student led protests marched in the streets for two years after the deaths of 16 people following the collapse of a railway station in the town of Novi Sad in November 2024. People had taken to the streets, demanding justice for those killed and accountability for anyone responsible for the disaster.

The momentum of nearly two years of street demonstrations culminated in a nationwide movement ready for change. The political novices were able to rally the nation behind a simple message against corruption and state capture.

Serbs across the country embraced the Student List, who are viewed as fresh faces in politics and are not tied to Serbia’s traditional political opposition, which is perceived as ineffective and corrupt by a lot of the voters.

EXCLUSIVE: SERBIAN PRESIDENT VUČIĆ SAYS SUPPORT FOR US 'SURGED' UNDER TRUMP, INVITES HIM TO VISIT BELGRADE

Milos Jevtic, a 48-year-old professor with the Faculty of Organizational Sciences at the University of Belgrade, was among the many Student List candidates who won a seat in parliament.

Jevtic told Fox News Digital that their victory came from the values that the students have stood for from the very beginning: expertise, professionalism, responsibility, solidarity and unity.

"What is particularly important is that the students have never compromised on these values and principles. Of course, widespread public dissatisfaction also played a major role, along with a lack of trust in both the current regime and the opposition parties," Jevtic explained.

Jevtic said he believes the priorities for the new Student List-run government should be economic stability, fighting corruption, establishing the rule of law and strengthening institutions, much of what carried the student-led protests since 2024.

"The ultimate goal is to build a system in which institutions function in the interests of all citizens," Jevtic said.

On foreign policy, there is an expectation that there will be a certain degree of continuity with the Vucic administration in international relations, including maintaining good relations with neighboring European countries and all major international partners.

But Brnabic warned that "Serbia has lost meaningful political pluralism. After 35 years of a multiparty system, the country is effectively left with one established political party, SNS, while the rest of the political scene is dominated by largely unknown movements without a clear ideology. This is catastrophic for any parliamentary democracy."

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She added, "Secondly, nobody in Serbia knows where the country is heading. Are we firmly pro-EU? Will we maintain our ties with Russia? What about China? Will we continue to enhance our relations with the United States — which was a priority of Aleksandar Vucic? Will economic policy be more left-liberal or conservative? Are we heading towards a woke liberal society, or will we preserve our traditional Orthodox Christian values? There are no clear answers to any of these questions."

She concluded by noting, "We have also called for Parliament and all state institutions to be constituted as soon as possible, so that the country has functioning institutions on which people can rely. We will be a strong but constructive opposition. We call on the Student List’s representatives to end the intimidation and assume the responsibility entrusted to them by the voters." 

With the PM having broken his silence to praise police actions, Portugal’s PSP (Public Security Police) force has today published a video showing incidents of violence directed towards them during

The post PSP publish video showing violence directed against them during housing protests appeared first on Portugal Resident.

Prime minister Luís Montenegro has finally broken his silence of recent days – but it is unlikely that opposition parties heard what they were hoping for. The leader of the

The post PM praises police actions during housing protests, saying PSP acted with proportionality appeared first on Portugal Resident.

Portugal’s political parties in opposition have reacted quickly to the words today from the president about Sunday’s ‘baton charge’ by police on demonstrators in Lisbon – and none of them

The post Left-wing parties accuse president of being vague on housing protests appeared first on Portugal Resident.

After several days of silence and growing pressure from the opposition, the President of the Republic finally spoke out today about police interventions during the housing protests.  António José Seguro

The post President Seguro breaks silence over police reaction to housing protests appeared first on Portugal Resident.

Police officers are preparing a demonstration for Thursday, in Lisbon, to demand better working conditions and pay – and ironically, the housing crisis is intrinsically involved: unions warn that the

The post Police take to streets for better pay and working conditions  appeared first on Portugal Resident.

Marine Le Pen could scarcely have chosen a more favourable backdrop for her presidential campaign. A weakened president approaches the exit, demonstrations expose deep public frustration, and scenes of disorder reinforce her central argument: France’s governing establishment has lost control. The cards are all falling in her favour. Whether she can play them successfully remains the question.

Launching her campaign in Orléans, Le Pen promised national renewal and tougher policing. Reuters reported a poll placing her at 32–33.5 per cent, against 17 per cent for Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Those numbers are a snapshot, but they suggest something politically consequential: the candidate once treated as an outsider now occupies the strongest starting position.

Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, increasingly resembles a lame-duck president. Constitutionally unable to seek another consecutive term, he faces a succession contest in which his endorsement may carry limited weight. His admission of failures in anticipating the unrest compounds the damage. A presidency built around authority and personal command is approaching its conclusion with both visibly diminished.

For Le Pen, the advantage is obvious. Every confrontation between police and rioters supplies another opportunity to ask whether the government can perform its most basic duty: protecting the public. Citizens do not need to endorse her entire programme to find that question persuasive. They need only conclude that those already governing have exhausted their answers.

Yet the origins of the demonstrations matter. The Associated Press describes a movement rooted in education funding, rising living costs and inequality. Peaceful protesters cannot reasonably be bundled together with looters. Nor does the reporting establish that these disturbances are an expression of Islamism or Muslim demographic change. Misdiagnosing the crisis would weaken any serious argument for restoring order.

The broader integration debate nevertheless deserves frank treatment. A republic cannot function confidently if its citizens believe that common laws, civic obligations or freedom of expression are negotiable. Governments should confront Islamist intimidation, religious coercion and deliberate separatism wherever evidence establishes them. They should also expect newcomers to learn the language, respect constitutional principles and participate in national life.

Those expectations are legitimate. Treating an entire Muslim population as inherently unintegrated is not. Religious identity alone establishes neither hostility to France nor unwillingness to belong. The useful political distinction is between citizens who uphold democratic rules and individuals or organisations that seek to undermine them. That standard should apply consistently, whatever the religion or ideology involved.

Across Europe, political leaders would be wise to recognise the electoral danger of appearing evasive about integration. Voters seeking enforceable rules should receive practical answers: effective language teaching, access to employment, credible policing and action against extremist networks. When mainstream parties substitute moral lectures for measurable results, they leave an opening for opponents promising clarity and control.

Le Pen’s opportunity is to connect these concerns with a wider sense of abandonment. Disorder, strained services and anxiety about belonging can become parts of one political story: the state demands obedience and taxation but delivers too little security or reassurance. Her opponents will struggle if their response consists principally of explaining why voters should fear her.

But favourable circumstances do not eliminate her weaknesses. Her conviction over European Parliament funds, which she is appealing, sits awkwardly beside a campaign demanding accountability and respect for law. Her promises of spending restraint, lower business taxes and resistance to further retirement-age increases also invite scrutiny. Winning confidence requires explaining how competing commitments can be reconciled.

The challenge for her rivals is therefore substantive. They must demonstrate that public order and legitimate protest can coexist, that integration involves shared duties, and that economic grievances deserve workable remedies. Simply rebuilding an electoral barricade against Le Pen may prove insufficient if voters associate its defenders with the failures that brought France here.

For now, momentum belongs to her. Macron looks depleted; the streets convey insecurity; the establishment struggles to offer a convincing successor or a persuasive account of renewal. None of this guarantees a Le Pen presidency. It does mean that her opponents can no longer rely on her reputation to defeat her. They must recover the public’s confidence in their own capacity to govern. Otherwise, France’s crisis may become her decisive electoral advantage.

Le Pen Sets Out €140bn Spending-Cut Plan as French Debt Dominates 2027 Race

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch are joined by Associate Editor Liz Wolfe to discuss California's proposed 5 percent wealth tax on billionaires, which a Hoover Institution study suggests could ultimately cost the state $39 billion in lost revenue. With wealthy residents already leaving California, the panel examines whether the measure will survive next week's vote, why Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes it, and how public sector unions have helped fuel the state's spending problems.

The panelists then look to France, where mounting unrest and economic stagnation raise questions about the long-term consequences of high taxes, expansive welfare programs, and pension obligations that increasingly burden younger generations. Next, they discuss Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returning home after 10 months in exile. Then, with the midterm elections next week, the editors examine whether Trump's tariffs, war with Iran, and mounting allegations of corruption will deliver Democrats control of Congress. Finally, a listener asks whether today's democratic socialist movement will ultimately be remembered like the libertarian and Tea Party movements of the early 2010s.

 

0:00—California's wealth tax proposal

13:02—Will France protests influence America?

22:50—Corina Machado returns to Venezuela.

31:19—Listener question on the DSA

44:40—2026 Midterm elections preview

58:34—Weekly cultural recommendations

 

Upcoming Reason Events

Reason Versus - Authoritarianism Is a Right-Wing Problem, November 10

 

Mentioned in the Podcast:

"Will the Wealth Tax Fail?" by Liz Wolfe
"France Is a Warning to California's Tax-the-Rich Crowd," by Veronique de Rugy
"California's 'Wealth Tax' Could Cost the State $39 Billion," by Eric Boehm
"Report: California's Proposed 'Billionaire Tax' Is Based on Bad Research," by J.D. Tuccille
"A Wealth Tax Built on Billionaires Who Aren't Really Billionaires," by Veronique de Rugy
"New Book Says Jared Kushner Funneled Money to Middle East Mercenaries. Kushner Denies It." by Matthew Petti
"Trump's Tariffs Are Politically Toxic," by Eric Boehm
"The Democrats' Socialist Moment," by Matt Welch
"Family Separation Drama Fjord Is a Haunting Depiction of Unchecked State Power," by Peter Suderman

The post California's Wealth Tax Could Cost the State $39 Billion appeared first on Reason Magazine.

💾

© Illustration: Fatima Ruiz

On October 25, an election list formed after two years of student-led protests in Serbia toppled Aleksandar Vučić and the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). The announcement was met with street celebrations that continued throughout the night, recognizing the outcome as a chance to break with 12 years of the former president’s anti-people policies. 

Election turnout surged to almost 70% of registered voters. The Student List secured roughly 53% of the vote and the SNS came in second with close to 39%. The two options are set to be the only forces in parliament except for minority representatives.

“These results have shown that a genuinely homegrown – even if heterogeneous – movement can articulate social discontent with SNS rule, provided it makes a decisive break with the baggage of the pro-Western opposition,” the Party of the Radical Left (PRL) wrote in a reaction on Monday.

The Students List ran on a platform titled “Serbia or the Mafia,” consisting of anti-corruption promises and plans to tackle the political establishment’s capture of the media sector. It also included a call for more transparency in public procurement and recruitment in the public sector. The platform promised to limit import monopolies, lower drug prices, and make healthcare more accessible.

From the Novi Sad canopy collapse to the ballots

Sunday’s results were made possible by months of demonstrations and public assemblies triggered by the canopy collapse in Novi Sad in November 2024. Sixteen people died in the event. In the aftermath, students across the country threw their energy into a campaign demanding accountability for the tragedy. 

From the beginning, protesters insisted the Novi Sad disaster was a consequence of the SNS’s way of doing politics, marked by widespread corruption, nepotism, and disregard for the public interest. During his tenure as prime minister and president, Vučić attempted to cast himself as a supporter of multilateralism and a political figure critical of the West, yet his actions exposed this as a more rhetorical than anything else.

These actions included supporting extractive deals with British-Australian mining company Rio Tinto – which the European Union included on its strategic projects list despite risks posed to communities in Jadar and mass mobilizations against the project – as well as the launch of a drone factory in cooperation with Israeli arms producer Elbit Systems. In fact, despite the former SNS leader’s efforts to present him as neutral, Serbia’s involvement in arms trade to Israel has been such to warrant notes of particular concern by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

Locally, Vučić’s rule was marked by violent crackdowns on activists and campaigns, from the most recent student campaigns to Palestine solidarity. There was no substantial reaction to these reports from other European countries or the EU.

On the other hand, while very heterogeneous in character, the student movement aligned itself clearly against the Gaza genocide. Some local groups made solidarity with Palestine a central issue in their mobilizations. They also mobilized against projects associated to US interests, including the redevelopment of the former General Staff complex – a Belgrade landmark damaged in the 1999 NATO bombardment of the city – into a luxury hotel by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. This project was also brokered while the SNS was in power.

Progressives within Student List face difficult task ahead

The student campaign grew in significance through decentralized plenums and consultations across the country. This approach was not abandoned even during the formation of election lists – leading to a roster of new candidates, previously largely unknown to the public. University staff and other education workers who had supported the mobilization from the early days figured prominently on this list.

The success of the Student List represents an extraordinary achievement, especially considering the movement faced obstructions at every turn. These included police violence and institutional intimidation over the past two years, as well as schedule provisions that jeopardized voting rights in the diaspora. 

“The progressive elements within the Student List and the movement now face a difficult task: to resist the forces of the establishment within their own ranks,” the PRL emphasized after the election.

Earlier on, the party and other progressive voices expressed “critical support” for the Student List, recognizing the elements of social justice incorporated in its platform – but also noting aspects belonging to a technocratic vision of governance. 

Read more: Albania’s protests show no signs of backing down

“When it comes to the published program, the measures set out in the ‘Serbia or the Mafia‘ plan are not enough to eradicate the structural injustice that has taken root in Serbia over thirty years of privatization, ‘structural adjustment’ to the Euro-Atlantic regime, and the weakening of public institutions – and their systematic incapacitation from carrying out their mandated functions and protecting the public interest against the arbitrary power of capital,” the PRL stated in September.

Despite such reservations, the hope embedded in the movement surrounding the Student List is clear. The PRL observed: “Beyond the mass politicization of students and the raising of awareness on many key social issues – and despite pressure from ‘opposition’ politicians who would rather keep all these topics quiet […] we consider the following to be progressive developments: the construction of a directly democratic movement that antagonizes both the government and the parliamentary opposition in practice […] open communication and cooperation with trade unions, which gave rise to the first mass protest-based May Day commemoration in many years […] and cooperation with informal labor and professional collectives, which gave rise to a new organization – the Social Front.”

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.

RELATED:

Police Violence Escalates During Mass Protests in France

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

— L'insoumission (@L_insoumission) October 24, 2026

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 #canal16 pic.twitter.com/nmkMNERhZ3

— franceinfo (@franceinfo) October 26, 2026

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.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE – Union Etudiante

As the Left unites with Islamists to march against Israel, what it forgets is that Zionism was always a progressive movement – and the Irish forget that they originally identified with the Jews, says Andres Roth.

The post The Left Forgets That Zionism is a Progressive Movement appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Portugal’s Attorney General has called on parliament today to review the 1974 legislation governing the right to demonstrate, declining to refer the law to the Constitutional Court (TC) for review.

The post Attorney General challenges parliament to change law on demonstrations appeared first on Portugal Resident.

The president of Portugal’s Bar Association believes an inquiry must be carried out into the security forces’ actions at the protest camps in Lisbon and Porto on Sunday, as the

The post Bar association demands inquiry into police actions at housing protest appeared first on Portugal Resident.

Last night’s throngs at the squares in Porto and Lisbon that have become centres for ‘right to housing demonstrations’ dispersed without incident last night, and through the early hours of

The post Sunday night’s protests end without incident; focus now on Lisbon courthouse appeared first on Portugal Resident.

A student movement that emerged after a deadly railway disaster has turned nearly two years of protests into an electoral victory.

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Serbia’s student-led opposition has secured a decisive parliamentary victory over Aleksandar Vučić’s ruling party, according to preliminary results, ending 14 years of political dominance by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and opening a new chapter in the country’s politics.

RELATED: Serbia’s Vucic Concedes Victory to Opposition Students Party

Vučić acknowledged the defeat on Sunday, saying initial projections indicated that the Student List would win between 135 and 140 seats, compared with about 105 for his party. The result follows nearly two years of student-led demonstrations against corruption and what protesters describe as growing authoritarianism.

The Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), a non-governmental organization, projected that the Student List would win 139 seats after 56% of ballots had been counted, against 104 for the SNS. Unofficial estimates from polling institute Ipsos put the student movement at 140 seats and Vučić’s party at 103, down 26 seats from the 2023 parliamentary election, when it secured an absolute majority.

The setback was compounded by the failure of the Socialist Party, a longtime ally of Vučić, to clear the 3% threshold for parliamentary representation. The party previously held 18 seats. Preliminary estimates also gave three seats to Serbia’s Hungarian minority party and two to the Albanian minority list.

Turnout approached 70%, the highest since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992 and close to the record set in the 2000 parliamentary election.

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The student movement grew out of protests that began in 2024, after 16 people died when a canopy collapsed at a railway station in Novi Sad. The disaster prompted mass demonstrations across Serbia, with protesters demanding accountability over the collapse and the construction work carried out by a Chinese company following a tendering process criticized for its lack of transparency.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets, turning the demonstrations into a broader challenge to corruption and the concentration of political power. The student movement emerged as a nationwide opposition force and sustained pressure on Vučić’s government for nearly two years.

Vučić, who had led the country for 14 years, resigned as head of state in September to run for prime minister.

Celebrations and tensions in Belgrade

The preliminary results sparked celebrations across Belgrade, where thousands gathered to dance, chant slogans and set off flares and fireworks. Crowds shouted “Victory” and “Vučić is leaving” as people embraced and wept with joy.

Slavija Square, a focal point of the mass protests against the government, filled with supporters of the student movement. At Pioneers Park, between parliament and the presidential palace, hundreds of people tore down the fence surrounding the grounds and entered the public space.

The park had been closed to the public for months and periodically occupied by groups of masked Vučić supporters, who were accused of being used as a force to confront government opponents.

The celebrations underscored the scale of the political shift after more than a decade of SNS rule. Vučić had weathered previous opposition challenges, but the student movement turned sustained street protests into an electoral campaign that defeated his party.

A decentralized political movement

The Student List has presented itself as an alternative to Vučić’s centralized model of leadership. It operates through a horizontal structure and has avoided putting forward a single public face, arguing that political decisions should be made from the bottom up rather than imposed from above.

Its slate of 250 candidates includes university professors, actors and farmers, many of them little known to the wider public.

Radomir Sajcic, a University of Belgrade professor representing the movement, celebrated the result at its headquarters. “Dear Serbia, tonight the voice of the people can be heard,” he declared. “Tonight we celebrate victory; tomorrow we will build the future.”

Sajcic also described the outcome as “a victory of courage over fear, a victory of hope over indifference, a victory of faith that Serbia can and must be different.”

The movement’s platform calls for restoring the separation of powers and the autonomy of the prosecutor general’s office, as well as increasing investment in health care and education. It also pledges to tackle corruption and individual privileges to boost public revenue, while promoting technological modernization across the economy, including agriculture.

Serbia’s score in Transparency International’s corruption index has deteriorated during Vučić’s tenure. The European Union has also raised concerns about the country’s declining adherence to the rule of law.

European support and foreign policy questions

European institutions have welcomed the student movement’s victory, describing it as an opportunity to advance democratic reforms, strengthen the rule of law and combat corruption.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated the students and offered support for reforms and greater press freedom. Council of Europe Secretary-General Alain Berset highlighted Vučić’s acceptance of the results and his commitment to a peaceful democratic transition.

Today, the people of Serbia turned out in record numbers to shape their country’s future.

Congratulations to the Student List on its victory in the parliamentary elections.

We stand ready to support reforms on the rule of law, media freedom, the fight against corruption and…

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 25, 2026

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar also congratulated the winners and expressed their willingness to cooperate with them.

The election could also affect Serbia’s relations with the European Union and Russia. Under Vučić, the country has pursued EU membership while maintaining close ties with the Kremlin. Serbia has been an official candidate for EU accession since 2012.

Before the vote, EU foreign policy spokesperson Christian Wigand said the bloc would monitor the election closely and stressed the need for a free, fair and transparent process.

The Student List has offered fewer details about its international priorities than about its domestic reform agenda. Available indications suggest it may maintain Serbia’s EU candidacy while continuing to oppose sanctions against Russia, although the movement has yet to clearly outline its foreign policy plans.

The student movement’s victory marks a major political turning point for Serbia after 14 years of Vučić’s dominance. Its ability to convert demands for accountability and institutional reform into a parliamentary majority has reshaped the country’s political landscape, but the incoming government’s approach to domestic reform and foreign relations remains uncertain.

Serbia’s student-backed opposition has won a decisive victory in Sunday’s snap parliamentary election, according to preliminary projections, after Aleksandar Vučić conceded defeat. The result, if confirmed, would end the Serbian Progressive Party’s (SNS) 14-year hold on power and give the protest movement a majority in the 250-seat National Assembly.

Vučić said his coalition had lost, estimating that the Student List would win between 135 and 140 seats, against about 105 for his political camp. A representative sample by CESID-IPSPS pollsters put the Student List on 138 seats and the SNS on 104. The results announced by Vučić were preliminary; the official count had not been completed when he made his statement.

The independent election-monitoring organisation CRTA put the Student List on 51.47 per cent of the vote and Vučić’s “United Serbia” coalition on 40.42 per cent in its preliminary estimate. Other parties were not projected to pass the threshold for parliamentary representation, apart from lists representing national minorities, which are subject to different rules. Serbia’s Republic Electoral Commission has yet to confirm the final results.

The margin was far wider than the close contest suggested by pre-election polling. Surveys cited before the vote showed the student-backed list and Vučić’s coalition within a few percentage points of each other, with estimates varying between polling organisations. The transcript cited similar mixed projections, including polls that put the Student List ahead and one conducted by Sputnik Serbia that favoured Vučić’s bloc. The preliminary count has shifted the focus from whether the governing camp could retain its majority to how the new parliament will be formed.

Turnout was exceptionally high. CRTA estimated that 67.8 per cent of voters had participated by 7pm, while Ipsos and CESID put the figure at 67.6 per cent. The final turnout remains pending, but both estimates were well above the 58.77 per cent recorded in the December 2023 parliamentary election. CRTA’s election-day updates also documented reports of pressure on voters and irregularities at polling stations.

The Student List grew out of demonstrations that began after a concrete canopy collapsed at Novi Sad railway station in November 2024, killing 16 people. Public anger over the disaster and demands for accountability developed into a wider challenge to the government. Students organised protests and blockades, calling for action over alleged corruption and failures in the handling of the station’s renovation.

As EU Today reported before the election, the campaign grew from the protests into an electoral coalition that displaced traditional opposition parties as the central challenger to the SNS. A previous report on the protests and Serbia’s EU accession process traced how the Novi Sad disaster became a wider test of state accountability and democratic standards.

Vučić, who resigned as president during the campaign to head the ruling coalition’s list, has been central to Serbian politics since the SNS came to power in 2012. His political camp has maintained close relations with Moscow while continuing Serbia’s formal bid to join the European Union. The Student List brings together candidates from a range of civic and political backgrounds. Its electoral victory does not, by itself, settle the movement’s positions on foreign policy or Serbia’s future relations with Brussels, Moscow and Pristina.

The vote took place amid reports of intimidation, violence and procedural problems. CRTA observers said they recorded pressure on voters, election workers or observers at 29 per cent of the polling stations they monitored. They also reported ballot photographing, which can compromise vote secrecy, and filed a report over suspected vote-buying and “carousel” voting in Veternik. These are allegations and observer findings; they do not establish that the overall result was invalid.

The election campaign had already drawn scrutiny over the conditions facing the opposition. In its pre-election assessment, CRTA cited pressure on voters, use of public resources and a blurred boundary between the state and the ruling list. Those findings concern the campaign environment; election-day reports concern specific incidents at polling stations.

Vučić’s concession reduces the likelihood of an immediate dispute over which bloc won, but the final count and formal allocation of seats remain necessary. CRTA’s estimate and the projections cited by Vučić both point to the Student List clearing the 126 seats required for a majority. The formation of a government will depend on the certified results and the parliamentary process.

The Student List must now turn a broad protest coalition into a governing administration. Its candidates campaigned under a common banner, but the movement includes participants with differing views and priorities. It will have to agree on a cabinet and determine how quickly it can pursue commitments on accountability, public institutions and the economy.

The result leaves the SNS facing a new role after more than a decade in government. A movement that began after a fatal infrastructure collapse is now on course to take power through parliament. If the preliminary projections hold, the transition will be the clearest test yet of whether Serbia’s student-led opposition can convert mass mobilisation into a stable government.

They reject restrictions on demonstrations and partial curfews as a broader wave of protests spreads across France.

On Sunday, the Yellow Vests movement’s coordination group called for demonstrations featuring pot-banging protests outside the National Assembly on Friday, Oct. 30, to protest French President Emmanuel Macron.

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“Macron and his administration have decided to take another step toward authoritarianism. They ban our demonstrations, impose curfews, and close city centers to protesters. We will make our pots and pans heard beneath the windows of lawmakers,” the Yellow Vests said.

The group, whose demonstrations shook France in 2018 during Macron’s first term, also called for the action to be extended to areas outside city halls in protest of restrictions on demonstrations and partial curfews in some cities.

These demonstrations are part of a wave of protests that began in September, when high school students took to the streets to demand improvements at their schools.

Le 24 octobre, manifestation dans la rue avec les étudiants et les gilets jaunes.

Des gens si différents, un même rythme. Pour le pouvoir d'achat, la dignité et l'avenir.

📸 Crédit photo : Desteek Photography#24Octobre #GiletsJaunes #etudiant #Act2 #act3 pic.twitter.com/1QF1oNp9Gm

— Desteek Jeya (@DesteekJeya) October 25, 2026

The text reads, “On Oct. 24, a street demonstration with students and the Yellow Vests. Such different people, yet sharing the same rhythm. For purchasing power, dignity, and the future.”

They later received support from college students, labor unions and the Yellow Vests, who added their demands for action against the rising cost of living and in defense of public services.

Organizers of the demonstrations held over the past two weekends have called for another day of protests on Saturday, Oct. 31, and are preparing a general strike for Nov. 5.

On Monday, in an effort to avert those events, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu will meet with representatives of student organizations, teachers, labor unions, business organizations, local authorities and lawmakers.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

Police operations left 31 people detained and more than 20 injured, prompting parties to criticize PM Montenegro.

Early Sunday morning, Portuguese police violently evicted housing rights encampments that had been taking place in Lisbon and Oporto. The police operations left 31 people detained and more than 20 people injured.

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The police action prompted reactions from most opposition parties, which criticized Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and his convenient silence in the face of the events.

Socialist Party (PS) leader Jose Luis Carneiro demanded a “comprehensive explanation” from the Montenegro administration regarding the police action at the encampments. He emphasized that the solution to the housing problem “is political, never police-related.”

“Montenegro cannot, through his silence, continue to pit the police against citizens and citizens against the police,” the Socialist leader said.

Although the government has not yet commented on the police operation, one of the parties in the governing coalition, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), has spoken out.

Its spokesman, Sebastiao Bugalho, defended the “proportionality” of the police action, which took place “within the legal framework that is supposed to apply to protect the right to demonstrate.”

🇵🇹 Manifestação pacífica pelo direito à habitação, foi violentamente desmobilizada pela polícia de intervenção, no centro de Lisboa. O governo de direita português mandou evacuar a praça do Rossio durante a madrugada. Houve 31 detenções. pic.twitter.com/CgJBaD9cyU

— geopol•pt (@GeopolPt) October 25, 2026

The text reads, “A peaceful demonstration for the Right to Housing was violently dispersed by riot police in downtown Lisbon. The right-wing Portuguese government ordered the evacuation of Rossio Square in the early hours of the morning. There were 31 arrests.”

Meanwhile, far-right politician Andre Ventura, founder and leader of the Enough! party (Chega), defended the eviction, asserting that “the police have been very patient with these people camping out in the squares. Too patient, even!”

Nevertheless, even Ventura criticized the stance adopted by Montenegro and the Social Democratic Party, accusing the prime minister of hiding from problems and failing to come out publicly in support of the police.

In recent weeks, police violence against Portuguese citizens has drawn criticism from international humanitarian organizations such as SOS Racismo and from European left-wing parties, which have denounced the excessive use of force.

The housing movement has called for demonstrations in Lisbon and Oporto on Sunday to reject police violence, as well as another protest on Tuesday outside Parliament, where debate will begin on the 2027 state budget.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

Anyone imagining that this morning’s scenes of violence were an end to ‘right to housing protests’ will be thinking again following news that protesters are set to return to the

The post Right to housing encampments return to squares of Lisbon and Porto appeared first on Portugal Resident.