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Protests at a third of lycées in France, blockades now at ten universities
More than 2,500 arrests have been made and hundreds injured
Students across France continue protest action today, which has already seen more than 2,500 people arrested and hundreds injured, including many teenagers.
High school (lycée) pupils in the Parisian suburbs began protests last week, which quickly spread to major cities across France including Lille, Marseille, Nice, Rennes, Lyon, Rouen and Nantes. Lycée students are typically aged 15-18.
Protests have so far been recorded in around 1,020 lycées - there are some 3,700 in France.
They continued to spread yesterday (October 1), and reports of continuing and new protests have been made this morning.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray pleaded with parents this morning to ensure their children did not attend protests today.
“Parents, quite clearly, need to step up and tell their children not to go to the blockades,” he told BFMTV.
“What matters now is ensuring our children are no longer out on the streets because they are in danger.”
University students have also joined the action, with around 10 universities blockaded this morning (October 2).
Some 400 schools are closed today, in a bid to reduce action and protect students.
The government has issued bans on demonstrations near closed schools.
A major protest, backed by student unions for both lycée and university students, is set for October 6.
However, protests are expected to continue until this date, with next Tuesday seeing increasing action at impacted schools.
Protests turn violent
Action at schools ranges from peaceful pupil walkouts to the blockading of entrances to prevent anyone from getting in, effectively closing schools.
At schools where the latter has taken place – more than 200 have been blockaded – scenes have been increasingly violent as students clash with police, who have used tear gas and ‘flashballs’ - launchers that shoot rubber projectiles - to disperse crowds.
Protesters have set fire to some schools, charring buildings as part of their demonstrations.
Teachers have urged both pupils and police to calm tensions, with some being caught up in the pandemonium and injured.
Why are pupils protesting?
Students say their protests are over the state of the education system, most notably a lack of funding for teachers and shortage of supply staff.
They cite high class numbers – up to 35 in a lycée class – and disruption to studies caused by teacher absences due to a lack of supply teachers able to provide coverage.
“We are not here to smash everything up without a reason," said one 16-year-old to AFP.
"We are here to say that the education system is completely broken. There are 34 of us in each class - it is not feasible. The teachers are overworked.”
Students are also calling for increased funding, as France’s 2027 budget is set to be debated.
The education budget has increased by €1.2 billion compared to last year, but there are plans to cut 1,500 teaching positions, largely affecting primary schools, where lower pupil numbers are forecast in the coming years.
Plans to charge enrolment fees for certain vocational courses for lycée students and classes préparatoires (preparation classes for France’s exclusive ‘grandes écoles’) have however been removed from the budget in light of the protest action.
Political battleground
The protests have led to the prime minister’s office accusing La France Insoumise of stoking the fires of protest and backing students in the most violent and disruptive protests, calling it an “operation organised by La France Insoumise and its far-left proxies.”
Education minister Mr Geffray added that “the lycée student movement is being held hostage by ultra-violent fringe groups.”
In turn, La France Insoumise co-ordinator Manuel Bompard called on the government “not to sink into conspiracy theories and the infantilisation of lycéens,” in an interview with AFP.
The La France Insoumise mayor of Seine-Saint-Denis, Bally Bagayoko, backed protesters and said in some cases “violence can be legitimate,” in the face of police actions, also urging young people to avoid it.
Party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called on protesters to use ‘non-violent methods’ in a post on social media on Wednesday.
