France to replace admissions platform after weeks of protests

France has pledged to scrap its university admissions platform, create additional higher education places and invest €1 billion (£840 million) in campuses in a bid to quell weeks of protests that have turned violent.

The announcement follows weeks of demonstrations led initially by secondary school pupils over teacher shortages and poor conditions at schools, but university students have also joined the movement, calling for the Parcoursup admissions platform to be abolished and more funding for universities. 

The education ministry said it would replace Parcoursup by 2028 with a “new and simpler” system and also pledged to introduce improvements to the existing platform next year. A committee will be set up to come up with a replacement for Parcoursup, with recommendations expected by the end of November. 

“Several changes are under consideration, such as a revision of the rules for taking continuous assessment into account and access to a new, AI-powered guidance tool that will draw on the results of previous campaigns to help each high school student make choices consistent with their academic path and aspirations,” it said. 

In the meantime, the government has promised more clarity over how applications to individual courses are assessed from next year. From June 2027, applicants will also receive an explanation for each rejection. 

It also promised to create 15,000 additional places in higher education between 2027 and 2028 and link university scholarships to inflation from the start of the 2027 academic year. Compared with 2026 levels, scholarship recipients will receive an additional €37 million in funding from the start of the 2027 academic year, rising to €121 million in 2028 and €220 million in 2029. 

L’Union Étudiante, a union representing university students, described the measures as “crumbs” and vowed to continue demonstrations. 

“Today, one in two students skips meals due to lack of funds; students have lost €3,000 in purchasing power over the past ten years. This is compounded by the recent elimination of housing benefits for non-EU students, which are now threatened with being frozen in the 2027 budget,” a statement said.

“Indexing to inflation should have been implemented years ago; what we are demanding is a €200 increase and an increase in the number of scholarship recipients.”

It also said “mere transparency” in Parcoursup is not enough, adding that there was an “urgent need to break with selection” and that 250,000 places in higher education should be created. 

seher.asaf@timeshighereducation.com