Gilets Jaunes Demonstrations Update to Students

This post is a republished version of an email communication sent by AUP Vice President for Security, Operations and Student Services Marc Montheard to current students on January 18, 2019, about the Gilets Jaunes demonstrations. It is part of our Safety & Security blog that rounds up all the latest news and updates for our community.

Dear Students,

Today is the last day of orientation for the Spring incoming students and we are now looking forward to welcoming everyone back  for the first day of class on Monday.

For those of you here this weekend, please be sure to refer to President Schenck’s email sent yesterday. As she mentioned in her email, we strongly advise you to stay away from the Gilets Jaunes demonstrations planned on Saturday. We have just learned today that one of the groups has chosen to demonstrate from the Invalides, walking towards Montparnasse and then returning to the Invalides tomorrow.

Previous experience has taught us that violent incidents tend to happen as the afternoon carries on. Given this, please plan to stay off of the streets in the area  between the Invalides and Montpartnasse tomorrow, particularly in the afternoon. Other Paris areas could potentially be impacted, so stay alert and remember that some metro stations might be temporarily closed.

Predicting how the Gilets Jaunes movement will evolve is challenging, however we will continue to inform you regularly of the latest developments and we will text you with any urgent information or alert as necessary. Hopefully the new national discussions called by President Macron will result in more dialogue and less violence moving forward.

With all of this said, we hope that you have a restful and enjoyable final weekend before the semester starts!