Trash cans piled up high at the Lycée Aubanel school gate : it's a blockade set up by students in support for the strikes and demonstrations led by unions against the reform to the French old age pension system. While today the standard age for retirement is 60, the new scheme will change it to 62 and up to 67 in certain circumstances. Against the older crowd clinging to jobs that the young want to grab (youth unemployment is quite high in our country), against having to work up to the age of 62 or more themselves, many students joined the movement and blocked entry to their schools. With demonstrations twice a week the movement is strong but how successful is it likely to be? The government is adamant that no amount of street action will affect its determination to pass the law which is about to be voted by the senate.Poubelles empilées devant les portails, c'est le blocus au Lycée Aubanel : toute la semaine dernière et encore aujourd'hui, l'entrée du lycée a été bloqué par des élèves soutenant la lutte contre la réforme des retraites.
Depuis plus d'une semaine que dure le blocus le schéma est le même : à 8h le matin, la foule des lycéens (plus de 1500) se presse pour entrer. Les "bloqueurs" font le tri : internes, BTS et Terminales S en travaux pratiques sont autorisés à entrer, les autres sont refoulés. Le reste de la journée (comme ici vers midi) c'est nettement plus calme : les élèves empêchés d'assister aux cours sont rentrés chez eux, seul un tout petit groupe d'activistes assure une présence dans la rue. Mobilisation des lycéens ? Jeudi dernier la prolongation du mouvement a été votée à 82% - mais peu nombreux sont ceux qui ont une vraie motivation ; beaucoup admettent en privé qu'ils sont juste ravis de ne pas aller en cours : si on pouvait faire durer le blocus jusqu'au vacances qui commencent ce samedi, ça ne serait que du bonheur. En revanche les élèves déterminés à travailler (Terminales S en particulier) se débrouillent en grande majorité pour aller en cours. Pour entrer ils ont deux options : négocier parfois âprement avec les bloqueurs (pas évident) ou faire le mur en passant par une petite cour derrière (faire le mur pour ENTRER au lycée ? Comme les temps ont changé !!!). 
The Lycée (senior high school) has over 1600 students aged 16-18. For the past week the scenario has been pretty much the same: at 8:00 am every morning a crowd of students presses at the school gate to get in. One by one the students responsible for the blockade sort out the few admitted inside - only those with special exams coming up are allowed. Later in the day things get much quieter : those refused entry have usually gone home for the day, only a few activists stay around to hold the fort. I took my photos around lunch time on Thursday, see how quiet it is. How committed are the students ? A massive 82% voted last week for the continuation of the blockade but most of them will readily admit in private (or on facebook) that they're just happy to skip class : they wouldn't mind if the blockade went on until the November school holidays which start this Saturday. Those who are refused entry but are determined to attend school anyway have two options : negotiating their way in (tough job) or climbing over the back wall (climbing over the wall to get IN to school? How the world has changed !). They are mainly those who are in their Terminale year - they know they will be sitting for their baccalaureate at the end of the year and have no time to waste. Once inside it's almost business as usual, their teachers are there.
