Parcoursup, teacher shortages, an uncertain future: thousands of secondary school students are demonstrating across France. The leaders of the Scouts and Guides of France, supported by a movement of more than 100,000 members, are calling on adults and institutions to rebuild trust with young people and, in doing so, strengthen democracy.
For the past several days, hundreds and then thousands of students have mobilized to defend their right to receive a quality education, to obtain additional teachers or at least replacements for absent staff, and to express serious concerns about their future, particularly regarding Parcoursup, whose limitations are widely recognized.
In response to these demands, the reaction has primarily been repressive. Institutions have often chosen confrontation, while many adults appearing in the media have spoken on behalf of young people instead of listening to them, refusing to take their words seriously and repeatedly calling for condemnations of violence, as though the issue could be reduced to that alone. Too few have stood alongside them, unlike many teachers, education professionals, and parents.
Learning to Listen
We believe that we must listen. This moment is not merely an episode, a sequence of events, or a disturbance that should be contained. These young people are expressing anger rooted in a society that increasingly seems to have given up on listening to, hearing, and understanding them.
As leaders of the Scouts and Guides of France, the largest popular education movement in France with more than 100,000 members, we feel compelled to affirm our desire to trust young people. Trust is the very foundation of any educational relationship. It requires us to refuse to view a young person as a suspect before any dialogue has even begun.
A Breakdown of Trust
Young people are not responsible for the breakdown of trust that has placed them in this situation. Responsibility lies primarily with institutions. Our society places high expectations upon young people through a meritocratic vision, whether in education, civic engagement, or non-formal learning. It must therefore accept the consequences of these expectations and provide the material conditions required to meet them.
Of course, mistrust and even distrust toward young people when they speak out in the public sphere is not new. But let us remember: trust must be given before it can be received.
Trust Rather Than Violence
Trust in young people is a condition for building a healthy society.
Violence is not a solution. Violence directed against young people who are mobilizing is no less condemnable than violence committed by some of them. On the contrary, harshly repressing a generation expressing legitimate demands only deepens an already existing fracture.
This path of trust is difficult for us as adults and, despite being an educational movement, we have not always lived up to this ideal. Yet every week, tens of thousands of young people and adult volunteers in our movement come together through the educational methods of Guiding and Scouting, whose purpose is to help form happy, useful, active citizens and builders of peace.
Tools for Resolving Conflicts
We are practitioners of dialogue and non-violence. Team life, projects chosen and carried out together with others who differ in their backgrounds and expectations and who might never otherwise have met, the Scout Law and Promise, and the value of keeping one’s word are among the tools we use.
Some may consider these tools outdated, while others may accuse them of being naïve. Nevertheless, they have been effective for more than a century. Despite artificial intelligence, climate disruption, and relationships weakened by the Covid crisis, these tools continue to help young people learn how to resolve conflicts without crushing others, speak up without violence, and listen without remaining silent.
Giving Young People a Place in Decision-Making
Society does not need young people to remain silent. On the contrary, it needs them to engage in the community, defend their ideas, and be heard.
Listening is not enough. Young people must also be given a place in decision-making. By involving them in the choices that affect them, we demonstrate trust through our actions. In particular, we encourage secondary school students to participate actively in the dialogue and consultation bodies available within their schools.
Let us therefore know how to trust them, empower them, and enable them to assume their place and responsibilities in society. Let us help restore trust between young people, adults, and institutions so that we may contribute to rebuilding democracy. We are ready to play our part
