Protests that began with high‑school blockades in mid‑September have now spread across France, with more than 400,000 demonstrators taking to the streets on Saturday.
Macron said that Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu would announce "strong measures" after meeting student unions, and that he had asked the government to respond to the legitimate demands at the root of the movement.
The government is expected to tweak the national online admissions platform, Parcoursup, after critics said its opaque criteria deny equal access to preferred courses.
Earlier on Oct 8, the administration pledged 3,000 additional substitute teachers to relieve high‑school staffing shortages, a figure that now underscores the scale of the response.
A teacher in Marseille told reporters that the new substitutes would allow her to split her class into smaller groups, making lessons more manageable. Police used crowd‑control weapons that sparked injuries, prompting scrutiny, while the government prepares a cabinet vote on Friday to formalise broader reforms, including smaller classes and school renovations.