On Paris’s Left Bank, hundreds of students gathered to protest university closures, demanding they be allowed back to class.

University Closure in 2020
Back in October last year, the French government closed all universities in France to combat the rise in virus infections, causing many students to fall behind academically and socially.

The Protest
Struggling French university students drew attention to the dire circumstances they are living in and called attention to the rise in suicide rates as well as financial insecurity. Some students emphasized how they have been locked out from the rest of society, as many have been separated from friends, teachers, and jobs.

A protest banner that read “Nous Ne Serons Pas la Génération Sacrifiée,” which means “We Will Not Be the Sacrificed Generation,” was carried by students on their march to the Education Ministry.

One student even wrote a letter to President Emmanuel Macron writing that she and her peers have “no more dreams” and have “the impression of being dead.”