French PM Lecornu Moves to Calm Anger Over Schools, Fuel Prices and Farming

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu addressed the nation on Wednesday in an effort to ease tensions on several fronts at once: schools, rising fuel costs and the situation of farmers.

Student protests

"The anger among young people didn't come out of nowhere," said the center-right prime minister. The government's first responses to the students' grievances — dilapidated school buildings, a lack of substitute teachers and a wish for more manageable timetables — are due later this month. Ministers will review input submitted through a public platform opened on Tuesday, where students can set out their complaints.

On Tuesday, between 256,000 people by police count and 450,000 by organizers' estimates took part in demonstrations across France. Unions, teachers and left-wing parties joined the marches in solidarity with the students.

Fuel prices

The discontent goes beyond schools. A jump in fuel prices, triggered by the U.S.-led war in Iran, has deepened worries about the cost of living. Online calls have appeared for a Yellow Jackets-style protest on Oct. 17.

Lecornu said the G7 decided last Friday to release strategic reserves, and that France will make 10 million barrels of diesel available to distributors. He claimed the larger supply would cut diesel prices by €0.12 to €0.18 per liter.

France still has 8 million barrels of oil products to release under a broader agreement reached in March after the war in Iran began. POLITICO reported that the government had privately signaled on Wednesday morning that it might release a further 2 million barrels of diesel. It is unclear whether the 10 million figure includes that earlier commitment. The energy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Farmers

Lecornu also reached out to farmers, who have protested regularly in recent years over the sector's economic difficulties. "Among those hardest hit by the accumulation of these crises are our farmers," he said. New measures supplementing an emergency bill for farmers, which already includes more than €1 billion in spending, will be unveiled on Thursday.