Can presidential candidates connect with student movement? • FRANCE 24 English

Will it be autumn recess to the rescue for a beleaguered French government? Ministers no doubt counting the days until Friday evening when the holidays start in hopes that an unexpected student movement disappears as quickly as it materialized. A movement sparked three weeks ago by deteriorating conditions in a Paris area high school may take a leave of absence… but what about demands for a generation that feels left behind by cost cutting? Only one party’s sided vocally with the students since the very start, Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left France Unbowed. We’ll ask whether that will consolidate his second place in the polls ahead of next Spring’s presidential election. That would qualify Mélenchon for the May Second runoff against the far-right’s Marine Le Pen. Have the mainstream center-left and center-right candidates gifted the youth vote to the 75-year old firebrand? Do they understand what’s fueling the aspirations and anxieties of a generation that’s been through COVID, climate change and the sudden acceleration of AI? What does the next generation want? #protests #students #france 🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen 🔴 LIVE - Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN 🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/ Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen Follow us on X: https://f24.my/Xen Bluesky: https://f24.my/BSen and Threads: https://f24.my/THen Browse the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen Discover our TikTok videos: https://f24.my/TKen Get the latest top stories on Telegram: https://f24.my/TGen