SELECTION CRITERIA
Students at Sartre’s university stage sit-in against Emmanuel Macron’s policies
Paris — One of France’s most prestigious universities was forced to shut on Thursday after student protesters staged a campus occupation against government plans to make higher education more competitive. The Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris is the latest of many universities across France to face sit-ins against President Emmanuel Macron’s shake-up of the education system. Anyone who graduates from high school is guaranteed a place at a public university, but Macron’s government wants to introduce more selective criteria to tackle overcrowding and high drop-out rates. Protesters say the plan is an attack on France’s egalitarian tradition of offering a public higher education to all. ‘Selective nature’ Prime Minister Edouard Philippe expressed amusement at the idea of students at the "Normale Sup’" — part of a separate tier of highly selective top universities known as "grandes ecoles" — joining the movement. "It’s quite charming, given the extremely selective nature of the Ecole N...
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