Students And High Schoolers Block Nantes Campus Amid Nationwide Protests
More than 600 students, high schoolers, and union members gathered for a general assembly in Nantes on Thursday, October 1, before manifesting at the miroir d’eau. The mobilization follows two weeks after initial high school blockades and marks a broader expansion of protests into university campuses across France.
Campus Blockades and the March in Nantes
The Thursday gathering at the University of Nantes followed a midday assembly that drew just over 600 participants, according to an attendee present at the site. Camille Dupont, a history student at the Tertre campus, stated that participants voted to block the faculty and launch a demonstration. The initial plan involved marching to the police station on Place Waldeck-Rousseau to push for the release of high schoolers placed in police custody. Law enforcement blocked the procession twice, leading the crowd to disperse and regroup at the mirror d’eau. Participants emphasized that the demonstration remained peaceful.
Shared Grievances Over Educational Conditions and National Reforms
Demonstrators in Nantes aligned their grievances with those of striking high schoolers, pointing to deteriorating infrastructure and funding shortages. Dupont noted that university students face identical conditions to younger pupils, citing poorly insulated buildings and insufficient budgets alongside core opposition to national education policies such as Parcoursup, Mon Master, and Bienvenue en France. Protesters argued that ongoing debates in the National Assembly regarding the state budget directly threaten student welfare, specifically targeting proposed changes to subsidized student meals.
National Context and Government Response
The local protests in Loire-Atlantique coincide with nationwide unrest that has affected approximately 30 university campuses across France, as reported by the Union étudiante to AFP. National debate over the budget has heightened tensions, with students expressing frustration over potential removal of the one-euro student meal if the legislative package fails to pass. In response to the growing wave of campus blockades and demonstrations, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened an emergency crisis meeting at the Ministry of the Interior.
Prime Minister Convenes Emergency Meeting on October 1
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened the emergency ministerial meeting at 13:00 on October 1, as deliberations on the national budget continue inside the National Assembly.