Emmanuel Macron has been accused by trade unions of trying to curb the fundamental French right to protest as the government fast-tracks a bill to make protesters pay for damage caused by vandalism at street demonstrations even if they did not directly cause it themselves.

The French president, who leaves office next spring, has faced more than a month of protests in which high-school students have blockaded schools demanding a response to teacher absences, repairs to decrepit buildings and changes to the university applications platform.

Trade unions and gilets jaunes (yellow vest) anti-government protesters are now joining sustained street demonstrations in a growing social crisis over schools, as well as the cost of living and public services. Authorities have increased security measures and placed restrictions on demonstrating after France saw one of its worst days of violence in years earlier this month when largely peaceful demonstrations were marred by looting, fires and vandalism of state buildings.

The senate will this week debate the government’s proposed “vandals pay” law. The legislation would mean that a person protesting could be held liable to pay up to €10,000 for damage and vandalism even if they did not directly cause it themselves, if they were continuing to demonstrate nearby or as part of the same group as perpetrators. The bill also provides for greater use of drones over protests.

See also:

• France: Lawmakers must reject regressive “Rioters Pay” bill • France’s proposed bill to make demonstrators pay for damage caused to property by acts of violence in street protests, even if they did not directly cause it themselves, will have a chilling effect on freedom of peaceful assembly and must be rejected by lawmakers, Amnesty International said ahead of a two-day debate in the Senate. (Amnesty International)
• France’s youth are outnumbered. Their protests are testing who gets heard (Associated Press)

This post isn’t just stating that daylight savings should end (of course it should), I’m also arguing that Ireland has a once-in-a-generation chance to move Europe 1 hour closer to the US, permanently, which will have a whole heap of benefits.

Hey everyone, we're EUobserver, an independent European newsroom.

Our colleague Gaia Neiman is reporting from aboard the Humanity 1, a search-and-rescue vessel operating in the Mediterranean.

Early Tuesday morning, the crew reached a small dinghy carrying 28 people, around 90 kilometres from Libya.

They'd spent an entire day at sea, in a region where the weather can become dangerous very quickly.

Gaia witnessed the rescue and wrote about what happened, including the moment the passengers realised the approaching boat was there to help.

We often discuss European migration policy in terms of borders, arrivals and political agreements. This report offers a perspective from the sea itself.

How should search-and-rescue operations fit into the EU's wider approach to border management?

After two years of protests, beatings and arrests, Serbia’s students won an election. In FAZ, Michael Martens warns that their foreign policy programme spells trouble for the region.

Criticise their programme. Question their promises. But if you turn those promises into a warning about war, show how you got there. Refusing to recognise Kosovo is not a declaration of war, and silence during a campaign is not proof against an entire generation.

Serbia’s citizens voted to confront corruption, free their institutions and build a country worth staying in. They did not spend two years on the streets to earn a German newspaper’s approval.

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France’s government pledged Monday to replace its national online university admissions platform, seeking to quell student anger after weeks of often violent mass protests over education and living costs.

Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste announced “substantial change” to the platform next year, before its replacement in 2028.

Ministers also pledged up to 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) in loans for school renovations, alongside smaller classes, more teaching and higher education posts and increased student grants.

The concessions target the school grievances that helped ignite the unrest.

But the movement has widened to include workers demanding relief from rising living costs, making the government’s task tougher than simply resolving a dispute over university admissions.

Two high school student groups welcomed some concessions, but called for protests to continue. Their representatives spoke after meeting with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu earlier Monday.

“We have managed to address some of the students’ demands,” said Nathanaël Combary of the high school group Renouveau Lycéen. “I emphasize the term ‘some.’”

The 2028 deadline puts a central concession to protesters beyond President Emmanuel Macron’s time in office, leaving his successor’s government to deliver it.

French government commits to education reforms

For the 2027 admissions round, institutions would publish more detailed selection criteria. The platform would provide explanatory information with each rejection, and institutions would have to give applicants the reasons for their decisions if requested.

A committee involving students and teachers would produce initial recommendations for the replacement system by the end of November. The government said that it would introduce legislation if the proposed changes require it.

The government also promised 15,000 additional places in higher education across 2027 and 2028, mostly in vocational and technical programs, and increases in student grants linked to inflation from the start of the 2027 academic year.

To address demands for better learning conditions, the government pledged to cap some first-year high school classes at 28 students from 2027, starting with more disadvantaged schools. It also promised to cancel planned cuts to teaching positions at secondary schools and create 500 additional jobs.

The building plans would extend still further into the next presidency. The government proposed up to 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) in low-interest loans to regional authorities for school renovations through 2030. A separate 1 billion-euro ($1.1 billion) state plan would fund university renovations through 2029.

See also:

• French students vow more protests despite Macron government's concessions • Protests have spread to unions and yellow-vest activists • Macron warns of more unrest ahead of November 5 protests • Retailers say unrest is taking a growing economic toll (Reuters)
• France Makes Concessions to Students, but Not Enough to Halt Protests • The government promised to phase out an unpopular university admissions system by 2028. Student groups are pushing for more. (New York Times)

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Vučić has lost. His system is still standing.

The students have won the election. Now comes the harder job: breaking the grip of corruption, party control and organised crime on the state.

Serbia removed Milošević in 2000 but left much of his regime intact. It cannot afford to make that mistake again.

New analysis: Serbia After Vučić.

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