Crisis in France: the prime minister announced measures to curb protests and the rise in fuel prices

Faced with the unrest and mobilization of French students, the generalized social anger, and the dangerous association of students, unions, and farmers in the face of the excessive rise in fuel and living costs, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was forced to address the French on Wednesday evening, before a new student mobilization on Thursday and after his parliamentary questioning on Tuesday. The discontent of secondary school students, fuel, and electricity were the keys to Sébastien Lecornu's intervention, who met last night with President Emmanuel Macron and the Minister of the Interior, Núñez, to find a way out of the crisis. "We are in a difficult situation, but that does not mean we lack a response," he stated at the beginning of his address. He expressed understanding for "the tiredness of those who feel that as soon as one difficulty is overcome, another arises." In response to a series of student conflicts at the beginning of the school year, the Prime Minister took the floor on Wednesday from the Government headquarters in rue de Varenne to try to regain control of the situation. It was a highly anticipated moment, given the large number of protest reasons existing. In his address, the head of the government successively addressed the ongoing secondary student movement, the escalation of fuel prices, the agricultural crisis caused by the summer heatwaves, and the country's "financial situation," marked by the increase in debt costs. A government against the ropes Against the ropes, the government seeks a way out. It is surrounded by difficulties, from the revolt of secondary students to the escalation of fuel prices, through the financial situation and a new budgetary debate in Parliament. Following a day of massive demonstrations in the streets, the Executive attempts to calm the student movement while announcing a new day of demonstrations for Thursday. "What is happening in the institutes affects us all," Sébastien Lecornu stated at the beginning of the speech, assuring that "we take the youth seriously." A response to angry parents After regretting the acts of violence and the "schools incendied or vandalized," the Prime Minister stated: "The safety of the young people of France cannot be played with." With a conciliatory tone, in response to furious parents over police repression against their minor children and the government's decision to prevent the use of mutilating grenades—after a 15-year-old lost his hand in Lens and another lost an eye— to avoid further tragedies, Lecornu sought to regain control. He seeks to prevent the different focal points of discontent from converging, at a time when parents, teachers, and representatives of the Farmers' Confederation have joined the protests on Tuesday. At any moment, the yellow vests, the impoverished and rural middle class reappear. The law enforcement forces "have no instructions to confront secondary students," said the Prime Minister, when criticism of the brutal police repression against minors increases. "They must act in a proportionate manner." "When a young person is seriously injured, investigations must clarify the circumstances with full transparency," he added. No shooting at secondary students Although law enforcement had to face the violence of student protests—and sometimes respond to it with force—the head of the government defended the actions of the police and gendarmes. "Contrary to what some report and repeat, law enforcement forces have no instructions to confront secondary students," he stated, pointing—without explicitly mentioning them—to the leaders of La Francia Insumisa, who lead the discontent. What is the mission of the agents? "To protect the goods, but above all people: to enforce the law and allow access to educational centers," and "to act in a proportionate manner, in a context often very difficult," he said. Although "what happens in the institutes affects us all" and the government has "the duty to listen" to the unrest, Sébastien Lecornu condemned the violence against "students and staff who were attacked, injured police and gendarmes, and schools that were burned or vandalized." To try to calm the discontent, he announced that the dialogue spaces initiated in the centers will continue until early next week. The platform enabled since Monday has already received more than 40,000 contributions. State of schools and teachers Another announcement was the launch of five work lines focused on: the replacement of absent teachers, the material conditions for learning, the Parcoursup platform, the organization of the school schedule, and the establishment of a "clearer framework for expression" for secondary students, "in a living and evolving democracy." The functioning of schools, the actions of teachers and their absence, the state of the buildings, the lack of adaptation to climate change, roof leaks, and humidity are some of the student demands. Before the National Assembly examines the National Education budget on November 12th, the Prime Minister indicated that the funds allocated to this ministry will amount to 64 billion euros, "which represents an increase of 1,200 million euros in one year." He also announced that new responses to the demands of secondary students will be given before the end of October. The general objective of this budget remains: to reduce the country's public deficit to 5% of gross domestic product by 2027, following a rise to 5.4% in 2026, the Prime Minister reaffirmed "seriously." The price of fuels On Wednesday night, the Prime Minister also responded to concerns about fuel prices. The main measure: the government will make "10 million barrels of diesel from our reserves available to distributors in France for three months." This injection of barrels, extracted from reserves created to face shortages, will allow "to automatically reduce prices at the pumps." A drop of between 12 and 18 cents per liter of diesel is expected "to cushion part of the impact." A decree will be signed soon to allow this measure, which is planned to last for three months. Regarding energy, the Prime Minister also pointed out that the price of electricity should not increase this winter. EDF must "mobilize its capacities to the fullest" to achieve this goal. Sébastien Lecornu addressed the issue of the sharp increase in fuel prices. "The war in the Middle East, just like that in Ukraine, has become part of our daily life," he confirmed. The aid for those who travel long distances and the most exposed professionals will be maintained. A small change announced by Sébastien Lecornu: the payment of the "energy voucher" for households with fewer resources will be made in January, and not in spring as planned. It should be remembered, at the same time, of the aid already increased for those who travel long distances and for the most exposed professionals, such as farmers, construction workers, fishermen, home carers, and self-employed nurses. Agriculture cannot wait Affected by climate change, the agricultural sector is left behind by a very harsh summer. "Thousands of farms are in danger. It is an unprecedented situation," the Prime Minister warned. To face this crisis, "an emergency plan has been launched," he announced, assuring that "French agriculture cannot wait for the presidential elections." In parallel, the government is working on a broader reactivation plan—as he indicated—that will be presented to Parliament. Last week, Sébastien Lecornu presented his budget proposal for 2027, which includes savings of no less than 54 trillion euros. The Prime Minister wishes to maintain this commitment. Although "a deficit of 5.4% of GDP is foreseen," he intends to reduce it to 5%. "We must correct the deficit," he insisted. "We cannot incur the same expenses again in every crisis." This is the first time the head of the government addresses the French after the winter break, after responding to the deputies on Tuesday. It is a necessary intervention for the Executive, which fears an accumulation of discontent, given that parents, teachers, politicians, and union representatives have joined forces when the election campaign has already begun with its primaries. About the signature Newsletter Clarín I received all the news, stories, and analyses from the journalists of Clarín in your email I WANT TO RECEIVE IT