Among the supporters of Emmanuel Macron, few have chosen to recall that on October 17, before the scenes of chaos unfolded, between 550,000 and 800,000 people demonstrated across France with a long list of grievances. Yaël Braun-Pivet, who claims to speak with “a free voice,” is attempting to remind them.
Speaking on France Inter on Tuesday, October 20, the President of the National Assembly addressed the issues that high school students have been trying to bring to public attention for several weeks.
“We must not let the very legitimate questions around crowd control eclipse the demands of the demonstrators,” she declared, noting that “hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens demonstrated peacefully throughout France.” She added: “They must be heard.”
A Heterogeneous Movement United by Common Grievances
The October 17 marches, organized in numerous French cities, were highly diverse—bringing together students, yellow vest activists, farmers and others—but were broadly united around the fight against “the high cost of living” and the defense of public services.
“The job of politicians is to listen to the French people and act to provide them with answers,” Braun-Pivet argued.
Addressing a ‘Lost Generation’
The National Assembly President directed her most pointed remarks at the government. According to her, “answers must be provided to high school and university students.” She listed their principal demands: “Parcoursup, absent teachers, real estate, career guidance… These fundamental issues must not be forgotten.”
Her position stands in stark contrast to the approach adopted thus far by the government, which has retreated into a security-focused response centered on restoring order, at the risk of neglecting concrete solutions. Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced on October 8 only the deployment of “3,000 substitute teachers” and the creation of a platform on which students are invited to submit their grievances.
“We have a generation that is completely lost. We must give them hope, we must take care of them—we are not supporting them enough,” Braun-Pivet judged, lamenting that “we are acting as if all the concerns and problems had disappeared” amid the violence.
Above all, she emphasized that now is the right moment to discuss “budgetary questions” related to national education, as lawmakers currently examine the 2027 budget.
Call for a Parliamentary Inquiry
The Assembly President also defended the idea of a parliamentary commission of inquiry that would, in her view, shed light on “the bankruptcy” and “failure” of crowd control on October 17.
“The images we saw this weekend shocked me terribly,” she expressed. The proposal was to be presented at the Conference of Presidents on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
