France is preparing for nationwide protests on Tuesday after organisers called a day of action in support of students demanding more investment in education. The call follows a week in which students blockaded hundreds of schools, at least 190 were injured and more than 5,000 people were arrested.
The movement began in Paris in September and has spread across the country. High school students started it and university students later joined, protesting about overcrowded classrooms, run-down buildings and a shortage of teachers. More than 500 schools were partly or fully closed on Monday, according to Education Minister Édouard Geffray, who said 24 schools had been burned and ransacked since the protests began.
Several young people have been seriously hurt. On Monday a 15-year-old boy lost his hand during a confrontation near a school in the northern city of Lens, although officials said his injury was not life-threatening. Last week a 14-year-old in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône suffered a double jaw fracture after reportedly being struck on the head by a tear gas grenade, his lawyer said. Justice ministry figures show that 87% of the 5,060 people arrested are minors, and 1,802 people face prosecution. The Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL), a leading organiser, accuses police of excessive force, while Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has said the policing was “extremely proportionate”.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced a series of measures on Sunday and promised visible changes in schools, but said the government would make no concessions to violence. The USL said ministers had offered “nothing concrete” and urged people to join Tuesday’s mobilisation, and the teachers’ union SNES-FSU has asked its members to take part.
The unrest has become heavily politicised with a presidential election months away. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the radical-left La France Insoumise (LFI), has called it the strongest youth movement since 1968 and accused police of abusing their powers. Lecornu described LFI’s call to widen the protests as irresponsible, and National Rally leader Marine Le Pen blamed the left and called for a new anti-rioting law. In Marseille, the left-wing mayor Benoît Payan condemned the violence in his city while saying young people had legitimate concerns about their future.
