Teachers and students across France are reporting a surge in police brutality against young people during ongoing protests over education underfunding, with hundreds injured since late September.
Anouk Vandecasteele, an English teacher at a school in Lille, has joined the protests and described the violence as 'previously unseen' because it has not been directed at young people before. 'The fact that today they are injuring kids is unacceptable. That's one of the reasons why we are there,' she said.
Severe injuries reported among students
At a protest of around 250 people in nearby Lens, a 15-year-old reportedly had his hand 'blown off' after picking up a stun grenade thrown by riot police. Vandecasteele also heard reports of students losing eyes and a 14-year-old losing teeth after their jaw was broken.
'Of course during the gilets jaunes and other strikes many activists have been wounded, but injuring kids is unheard of. It's a bit scary,' she said. 'People who are currently demonstrating and people who are blocking the schools are just kids. They are unarmed; they just want to be heard. It is time for the government to listen to them.'
Teachers join student movement
Vandecasteele attended the largest demonstration so far on October 6, with nationwide participation exceeding 250,000. She said she joined to protect her students and amplify their voices.
'The students' movement is not only about claiming their rights and asking for decent conditions; they are questioning the role of young people in this country while there is lots of unemployment,' she added.
Underfunding remains central to the cause. Vandecasteele described leaking ceilings, class sizes of up to 38 pupils, and classrooms without enough tables and chairs. 'That's why teachers are joining the students; they are exhausted from pretending we are managing, and we are not.'
Concerns over representation and social mobility
Vandecasteele argued that demonstrators' violence has been overrepresented and at times misinformed. 'I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but it's a small percentage of what is happening. They are peaceful; they are asking for things with intelligence. We cannot associate the movement with the occasional acts of violence.'
Underfunding poses a serious threat to social mobility in France, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, with children in deprived neighbourhoods having less chance of escaping their socioeconomic background than in most other developed nations. The university admissions system Parcoursup has also frustrated students, with Vandecasteele noting that a shift to coursework-based assessment disadvantages overcrowded classrooms compared with previous exams.
