Frédérique Vidal, July 7, 2020. -

Ludovic Marin / AFP

  • This Thursday, the UNEF called on students to take to the streets en masse to demand the reopening of universities and emergency measures against precariousness.

  • The opportunity to put pressure on the Minister of Higher Education, Frédérique Vidal.

  • Because since the start of the pandemic, students have been shouting their distress and feel they are not being heard enough.

This Thursday, Frédérique Vidal may still hear her ears whistling.

The UNEF has indeed called on students to take to the streets en masse to demand the reopening of universities and emergency measures against precariousness.

Because despite the announcements of Emmanuel Macron on January 21 in their direction (return to university one day a week, two meals a day for one euro, creation of a psy check…), many students remain bitter: “ The measures announced are largely insufficient.

It was necessary to decide to revalue the scholarships.

We also want students to be able to return to university part-time.

To do this, you have to hire TD managers and set up split courses, ”says Mélanie Luce, the president of UNEF.

Paul Mayaux, president of Fage, also underlines the gap between the announcements and their real effect on the ground: “The meal at one euro is a good measure.

But when we know that half of the university restaurants are closed, that limits the scope.

And the fact of recruiting 80 more psychologists until the end of 2021 is only a short-term curative measure.

While it would have been necessary to strengthen the workforce in the long term, ”he laments.

"She did not break through in terms of incarnation"

A disappointment for which Frédérique Vidal bears the brunt, even if the decisions relating to the health crisis are taken by the Elysée and Matignon, after consulting the Scientific Council.

And that the ministers concerned by certain measures do not always obtain the arbitrations they would like.

For some players in the educational world, it is the political positioning of the Minister which would explain the fact that student issues have only recently been brought to the forefront of the media scene: "The Minister does not have enough political weight. within government to advance certain issues sufficiently.

On the need to partially reopen the universities, it has for example had difficulty convincing, ”said Frédéric Marchand, secretary general of Unsa Education.

“It is too dependent on Bercy,” adds Paul Mayaux.

It must be said that Frédérique Vidal, former president of the University of Nice-Sophia-Antipolis, comes from civil society and therefore had no political experience before her appointment in 2017. This did not really help him. , as Frédéric Dabi, Deputy Director General of Ifop underlines: “Since her appointment, she has not broken through in terms of incarnation.

Still, Parcoursup worked well.

It was an opportunity for her to exist politically, but it did not really bring her any gain ”.

Difficult for the ministers in charge of the superior to exist in the media

A concern experienced by his predecessors, Thierry Mandon and Geneviève Fioraso.

Because if the education ministers have always taken the light, those of higher education have always had more difficulty in existing in the media, their files being less accessible to public opinion.

“Only Valérie Pécresse, who held this position from 2007 to 2011, made an impression.

Because she was a politician already known, she carried the delicate reform of university autonomy and she knew how to speak to the media.

She was subsequently appointed Minister of the Budget and spokesperson for the government, ”notes Frédéric Dabi.

Frederique Vidal's relations with the teachers' unions are also fluctuating: “With two other unions, we obtained a majority agreement, signed in October, which provides for salary increases for teacher-researchers.

It's a great step forward.

But other measures in the research programming law worry us.

And it is difficult to have sustainable budgets for universities ”, indicates Frédéric Marchand.

An opinion contested by Jacques Fayolle, president of the CDEFI (Conference of Directors of French Engineering Schools).

“We are in an unprecedented situation with a reduced level of visibility.

The Minister was able to take initiatives and show agility to bring back face-to-face students, leaving institutions room for maneuver.

And she couldn't get the money in a snap, ”he insists.

"There was a problem with the tempo"

Some also criticize the Minister for not having taken the measure of the consequences of the health crisis on students early enough: "There is a problem with the tempo, a delay in ignition", considers Frédéric Dabi.

“Aid of 200 euros was paid in May to the most precarious students, while confinement began on March 17 and many were deprived of jobs from that time.

And the second aid of 150 euros was not announced until November, ”adds Paul Mayaux.

The majority of students following their courses remotely since October, many expressed their feeling of loneliness on social networks.

“Clear signals were sent as early as October.

But the possibility of bringing first-year students back to TD was only opened from January 25, and that of bringing all students back one day a week from February 8.

It's a bit late, ”says Frédéric Marchand.

“We had to wait until January 14 to have some measures towards the students.

They had the feeling of being abandoned and of having had a phantom minister for months, ”criticizes Mélanie Luce.

But for Jacques Fayolle, the Minister of Higher Education has above all been cautious: “What the students can no longer support is the permanent stop-and-go.

Bringing students back one day a week is ingenious since this measure is sustainable, even if the epidemic is evolving ”.

Some communication blunders

On the form, the Minister of Higher Education also sometimes irritated the students.

As when she launched this sentence to justify the closure of universities: "The problem is the brewing ... It is not the course in the amphitheater, but the student who takes a coffee during the break, a candy lying around on the table or a sandwich with the friends in the cafeteria ”.

Or that she tweets a video in which she promises young people

 : 

“what you have given for the country, the country will give you back”.

Outings that have attracted numerous taunts on Twitter: "These are not only communication blunders, but it denotes a disconnection with the students, their infantilization, and sometimes even a form of contempt", comments Mélanie Luce.

The government's announcements for students on January 21 could have enabled it to reassert itself.

But it was without counting on… Emmanuel Macron.

The president took care of the announcements himself, only letting her speak at rare moments, after her long tirades.

Exaggerated criticisms, according to Jacques Fayolle: “To be visible to say nothing, that has no interest.

We cannot be in permanent gesticulation.

It favors meaningful communication ”.

These questions do not prevent the minister from having the support of the executive, the president having confirmed it in his post during the last reshuffle.

“But it could have serious competitors, warns Frédéric Dabi.

Like the government spokesperson, Gabriel Attal, who was previously in charge of Youth, and Sarah El Haïry, the current Secretary of State in charge of Youth.

Both are more and more present in the media and their age allows identification with the students ”.

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