PARIS — France's government pledged on Monday to replace its national online university admissions platform in 2028, seeking to quell student anger after weeks of mass protests over education and living costs, the Associated Press reported. Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste announced 'substantial change' to the platform, Parcoursup, for 2027, before its full replacement the following year.
Times Higher Education reported that a committee will be set up to design the replacement for Parcoursup, with recommendations expected by the end of November, and that from June 2027 applicants will receive an explanation for each rejection. Scholarships will be linked to inflation from the start of the 2027 academic year, with scholarship funding rising by €37 million in 2027, €121 million in 2028 and €220 million in 2029 compared with 2026 levels, it said. The package also includes smaller classes in some high schools and 500 new teaching positions, according to University Herald.
Source: Times Higher Education, Oct 27, 2026 — France to replace admissions platform after weeks of protests
The concessions target the school grievances that helped ignite the unrest, AP said, but the movement has since widened to include workers demanding relief from rising living costs. The announcements followed France's worst unrest in years on 17 October, when demonstrations descended into rioting and looting, public buildings including Marseille's City Hall were stormed, and about 2,400 people were arrested over that weekend, AP reported. A later nationwide protest day drew more than 400,000 people by police estimates, while organisers claimed nearly 800,000, according to other reporting of the same events.
Student groups have not accepted the package as enough. Two high school student groups welcomed some concessions but called for protests to continue after meeting Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Monday, AP said, and the university students' union L'Union Étudiante described the measures as 'crumbs' and vowed to continue demonstrations, Times Higher Education reported. Student representatives are demanding a far larger expansion — 250,000 additional places, against the government's 15,000 — University Herald said. Further demonstrations are planned for 31 October, ahead of nationwide strikes called by labour unions for 5 November, AP reported.
The 2028 replacement date falls after President Emmanuel Macron leaves office — he cannot seek a third consecutive term in 2027 — so a central concession to the protesters will have to be delivered by his successor's government. That timing, and the student unions' rejection of the package as too small, suggest the education dispute that sparked France's worst unrest in years is not settled yet.