[{"source":"The Conversation – Articles (FR)","id":3248553,"description":"KEY TAKEAWAYS The French high schooler-led uprising is not a sign of a generational struggle pitting the young against baby boomers. The uprisings indicate a state of discontentment reflecting three grievances: failings within the education system, eco-anxiety and concerns over employment in the age of AI. Far from demanding a break with the established order, young protesters are simply asking for the right to live a good and fair life... like their predecessors before them. Rarely has Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents seemed so relevant to the times in which we are living. Although the discontents we are currently witnessing do not necessarily affect society as a whole, they are certainly impacting an entire generation born in the 21st century, as well as their parents and their social environment. Admittedly, we know that generations are not homogeneous and that any attempt to generalise is an oversimplification. Nevertheless, the high schoolers that are taking to the streets to protest in this day and age belong to a relatively homogeneous age cohort. You would be forgiven for thinking that the current unrest is the result of a clash of generations. From the outside, it is often viewed as a generational tug of war between a struggling young population and the rest: an aging but relatively prosperous Europe . Criticism is, without doubt, being directed at “baby-boomers” or those born during the thirty years following World War II (which were marked by economic prosperity and low unemployment, conditions that now seem a world away today). The problem lies elsewhere Nevertheless, this is not a generational conflict, and the fact that a substantial proportion of parents , as well as the majority of the population , share the students’ demands shows that the problem lies elsewhere. These demands are nothing new, and they help explain why many parents joined their children during the first demonstrations, along with teachers, to show their support over deteriorating conditions in high schools. The students and their initial demands were hijacked by more politically radical movements, some even revolutionary or anarchist, as well as opportunistic groups that took advantage of the disorder to loot shops and businesses, without any tangible political agenda. According to an official report dated October 14, 2026, “937 law enforcement officers, 248 students and 149 members of educational staff have been injured since the beginning of the high school student movement.” The demonstrations on October 18 resulted in more than 1,800 arrests . The proliferation of various groups with overlapping demands muddles the student movements’ original message, leaving us with little more than the smouldering remnants of a battlefield. Nevertheless, it is the central concerns of these students that I wish to explore here. Ultimately, this movement appears to lie at the intersection of several anxiety-inducing issues. Rather than speaking of a convergence of struggles, we should speak of a convergence of anxieties. Three sources of anxiety The movement appears to reflect the convergence of three factors that are also sources of concern: the perceived deterioration of public education ecological anxiety the new difficulties young people face in the labour market, particularly those associated with the development of artificial intelligence (AI). These three factors provide fertile ground for psychosocial anxiety. The high school students’ main demands appear legitimate and concern improving working conditions: replacing absent teachers, shortening excessively long school days, reducing the number of students per class, repairing and maintaining infrastructure, and improving or abolishing Parcoursup , the widely criticised higher education admissions platform that is often difficult to understand. These demands echo the broader perception that conditions in the French school system have deteriorated and that the system is relatively inefficient compared with those of neighbouring countries.","pubDate":"Thu, 29 Oct 2026 07:58:22 +0100","titre":"France: three overlapping woes are fuelling a generation of discontent","url":"https://theconversation.com/france-three-overlapping-woes-are-fuelling-a-generation-of-discontent-295102"},{"source":"The Conversation – Articles (FR)","description":"How can we encourage women to pursue scientific careers? In recent years, a number of mentoring or awareness campaigns have been put in place to encourage French high school students to study maths, physics or engineering sciences, while they remain underrepresented in these fields. One of the last large-scale initiatives is the Filles et Maths program , launched in 2025, including work on gender bias, the implementation of “role models” or timetables featuring flexible hours. The program was nonetheless met with criticism: while women remain under-represented in some disciplines, they also remain a minority in the highest positions across the board in the academic world, from mathematics to social sciences. In France, gender inequalities are therefore not limited to access to scientific studies: they cut across all university careers and make many women leave French Higher Education and Research before securing tenure. This “drain” is explained by several factors among which motherhood holds an important place. A survey in Denmark illustrates that unlike men, one in three women abandon their scientific career after the birth of their first child. The survey I have been conducting among doctoral students and social scientists highlights the difficulties faced by women who became mothers before becoming permanent employees. Since the 1980s , recruitment requirements have become tougher with candidates needing to have written a good PhD paper, regularly have their work published , participate in scientific events and get involved in the life of research labs. Much of this work falls under hope labour , that is, unpaid work done in the hope of future employment. In this context, what could be called the myth of the “total researcher” takes shape. This is based on the double penalty of being a productive scientist (without necessarily receiving any financial reward) and embodying the ideal of a career woman, devoted companion, and dedicated mother all rolled into one. However, this ideal of the “total researcher” clashes with the actual conditions of scientific work and motherhood. Paying the motherhood penalty in academia Becoming a full-time researcher requires mothers who aren’t tenured researchers to reorganise their lives. Some cram several days’ work into one by doing casual work, part-time teaching, unpaid scientific projects, and parental responsibilities. The pace often makes women work under pressure, sometimes at the expense of the quantity and quality of their scientific work. Other women choose to remain unemployed or take parental leave and thus link their career to that of their spouse if they earn enough. If this strategy of linked career is favourable for scientific production when you have a child, it also creates material dependence that could lead to sexist and sexual violence within the family unit, which this testimony from Jeanne, a doctor and mother of a little girl, illustrates: “I sometimes feel like I have to [‘have sex’], telling myself that ‘I owe him’ and ‘He lets me know it’.” In a professional context , where every moment must count, maternity, parental or sick leave become scientific working hours in themselves. Rebecca, for example, shared that she continued writing her final thesis when her son was sent to hospital in an emergency. This situation feeds a feeling of double guilt: the respondents believe they are never up to par, neither as mothers nor as researchers. Joana explains: “I took parental leave from work, but I feel bad about working when I see my son next to me.” Some non-tenured researcher dads, on the other hand, benefit from an academic paternity bonus. The gendered division of domestic and parental tasks, as well as taking paternity leave, sometimes allows them to devote more time to their research. To quote Marion’s doctor of History husband’s words: “I have completed nearly two articles in one month of paternity leave!” The","id":3248546,"url":"https://theconversation.com/the-impossible-equation-of-being-a-researcher-mother-striving-to-make-ends-meet-294312","titre":"The impossible equation of being a researcher mother, striving to make ends meet","pubDate":"Thu, 29 Oct 2026 07:58:21 +0100"},{"titre":"Beyond Day One: The Onboarding System Firms Still Haven’t Built","url":"https://www.slaw.ca/2026/10/14/beyond-day-one-the-onboarding-system-firms-still-havent-built/","pubDate":"Thu, 15 Oct 2026 07:57:55 +0200","description":"Your mid-sized firm invested $500,000 recruiting four to five new students last year. By year five, 91 percent are gone. Your per-person investment was roughly $100,000 to $125,000. Add salary, training, and mentorship. Then they leave. The question worth asking is whether you hired the wrong people, or whether you didn’t integrate them. The data suggests the latter. When the National Association for Law Placement Foundation surveyed departing Canadian associates, 29 percent cited work quality concerns. Sixteen percent pointed to productivity standards they felt they weren’t meeting. Thirteen percent said the advancement path was unclear. Thirteen percent mentioned fit. Another . . . [more] The post Beyond Day One: The Onboarding System Firms Still Haven’t Built appeared first on Slaw","id":3217670,"source":"Slaw"},{"description":"The beginning of another academic year has me reflecting on what more we can give students beyond the curriculum. We spend considerable time thinking about what students need to know and what they need to be able to do. We develop learning outcomes, create assignments, design simulations, evaluate learning, and provide feedback. All those things are important. However, some of the most valuable learning opportunities are not found in the curriculum at all. Sometimes, they arrive in an email. I remember an interaction with a student from several years ago. The student had sent a series of emails that were, . . . [more] The post The Learning Opportunities We Don’t Plan For appeared first on Slaw","id":3127233,"source":"Slaw","titre":"The Learning Opportunities We Don’t Plan For","url":"https://www.slaw.ca/2026/08/31/the-learning-opportunities-we-dont-plan-for/","pubDate":"Tue, 01 Sep 2026 08:01:36 +0200"}]