How a college-application portal became central to the youth protests sweeping France

France's youth protests have put Parcoursup, its college-admissions portal, under fresh scrutiny.

Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP via Getty Images France's youth protests have surged over school disrepair, staff shortages, and Parcoursup.

Parcoursup was meant to end admissions lotteries, but critics say it magnifies inequality.

"There is no social justice," a French high schooler told Business Insider.

What began last month as a protest over unfilled teaching positions at Lycée Saint-Exupéry in a working-class suburb of Paris has spread across France.

Hundreds of thousands of students are protesting crowded classrooms, unfilled teaching posts, and crumbling buildings.

Thursday marked the 10th day of protests.

Another target has emerged on placards and in chants: Parcoursup, France's central online portal for higher-education applications.

Three French students told Business Insider that the admissions system can turn underprivileged schooling, personal upheaval, and a shortage of local courses into barriers to higher education.

"There is no social justice," Pierre Sourzat, a 17-year-old student in a preparatory program in Toulouse and president of the association "Les Lycéens," told Business Insider.

"That's why high-school students are angry today." On Thursday, in response to the protests, the minister of national education introduced an emergency plan to address students' concerns, including a plan to mobilize substitute teachers.

What is Parcoursup? Parcoursup is France's state-run, centralized website for applying to university and other post-high-school courses.

The French government introduced Parcoursup in 2018 with the goal of making access to higher education fairer and more transparent than the previous system had.

The Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation runs the platform.