One source of student anger in France is a web application—yes, you read right, students are protesting an app. In this opinion piece in The Globe and Mail, Julie and Jean-Benoît explain what the app is and why students are demanding the government ditch it. “The protests in France were caused, in part, by an app. Here’s why it matters.” 

As we explain, the app is called Parcoursup—a contraction of parcours, “path”, and supérieur, the French term for “higher learning.” It is a national, universal student-to-program matchmaking application the French government introduced in 2018 to tackle two problems in higher education: the system is decentralized (problematic in France), and it is extremely elitist. 

The government’s intentions were good. Although, theoretically, every high school graduate in France had the option of either of these post-secondary streams, in reality, we explain, there have always been huge barriers to both. The app aimed to make it easier for students from outside Paris to apply to some of the best schools in France.

But students have criticized it as « discriminatory » and demanded its removal.

Will the French government reform Parcoursup, or even remove it to assuage escalating student anger? It would certainly be a quick fix compared to investing billions of euros fixing decaying classrooms across the country.