Student mobilizations in France

national | miscellaneous | news report Saturday December 07, 2002 18:37 by FSE - Federation Syndicale Etudiante international at luttes-etudiantes dot com

Students in France are mobilizing against tne LANG-ECTS reform : in the Toulouse - Le Mirail university, the strike goes on and even goes stronger. In Montpellier 3 and Bordeaux 3, the strike has been voted. In other universities in France, general meetings are organized.

Students in France are mobilizing against tne LANG-ECTS reform : in the Toulouse - Le Mirail university, the strike goes on and even goes stronger. In Montpellier 3 and Bordeaux 3, the strike has been voted. In other universities in France, general meetings are organized.

These mobilizations aim at stopping the LANG-ECTS reform, which is the French implementation of the Bologna european declaration (june 1999). Education ministers of the 29 european countries agreed to liberalize higher education on the following basis :

- creation of supplements to the diplomas, in order to "promote the integration of european citizens into the labour market and improve the system's competitiveness".
- Creation of credit diplomas, called "ECTS". Each subject gives some credits, which can "also be acquired out of the higher education system, including in lifelong education". The consequence is the devaluation of the basic education.
- Reorganization of the programmes by suppressing some diplomas, in France according to the "3/5/8" system (suppression of the DEUG (2 years of higher education) and the maîtrise (4 years)). Bac+5 diplomas (like DEA) will be replaced by a diploma, copied on the North American model : the "master".
- Moreover, private financings become more and more important and there are CEOs in the jurys which define how to allocate the credits.

It is obvious that Raffarin (French prime minister)'s will to "decentralize" goes in the same direction : competition between universities and so between students. The State gives less and less money to the universities, and by doing so, it forces universities to look for money from the regions, the private firms and the students. It's an attack against the public service principle.

The students' counter-attack

On monday the 18th of November, the student strike in Toulouse Le Mirail came into effect with the creation of pickets in front of all the buildings. The strike has been revoted with 1400 students.
The students in the university of Montpellier 3 - Paul Valéry, during a general meeting (where 1000 students were present), have voted the strike on the 26st of November. On 21st of November, students in Bordeaux 3 have done the same thing (600 students were present). Rennes 2 and Bordeaux 2 may follow these universities.

General meetings on this reform are taking place in other universities such as Pau, Besançon, Caen, Paris Sorbonne-nouvelle, Angers, Brest, Poitiers, Dijon, Tours, Le Havre.
Students have joined the recent demonstrations to save public services, on the 26st of november.

The next big demonstration is planed on the 12st of december.

The aim is now to extend the students' fight.