Macron promises students “strong announcements” to respond to their “legitimate demands”

The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, has promised high school students that his government is preparing “strong” measures to satisfy the “legitimate demands” presented by the youth group, the epicenter of the enormous social tension that has shaken the entire country throughout this month.

Almost half a million people took to the streets of France again this weekend, led by student associations and the ‘yellow vest’ protest movement. The first to demand once again that Macron order a comprehensive reform of secondary education and the second, who has been on a warpath against the president for eight years, to demand his resignation due to the failure of his economic policies.

Macron, who arrived this Monday in Marseille (one of the cities most affected by the height of the protests and the subsequent riots on October 17), has considered that the tightening of security measures ordered by his Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, worked last weekend and hopes that they will work again in the rallies scheduled for next Saturday.

“Order has been maintained, but next Saturday will continue to be a high-risk Saturday,” the president stated before the national media, where he confirmed that the reinforced security device will continue at full capacity. “We will continue to have specially designated mobilization routes,” he explained.

Macron has redoubled his criticism of the “extreme left movements” that, fueled by social networks, have ended up instrumentalizing student protests to put into practice their “fascination with violence.”

“Social networks harm our democracies because they generate a kind of shock when faced with scenes of violence, since for some they are an instrument to mobilize the worst,” he stated. “The answer to this,” he insisted, “can only be based on security.”

THE MINISTERS OF EDUCATION ANNOUNCE PRESS CONFERENCE FOR THIS AFTERNOON

President Macron has promised from Marseille “strong announcements” to respond to the “legitimate demands” of the students, pending now the meeting scheduled for 2:30 p.m. between the Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, with several student organizations (first, secondary school; then it will be the turn of the university students).

Three hours later, at 5:30 p.m., a press conference will be held with the participation of the Ministers of National Education, Edouard Geffray, and of Higher Education, Philippe Baptiste.