Streets across Paris have been engulfed by fires as hundreds of furious protesters were arrested, with thousands of arrests and hundreds of injuries reported nationwide. Schools have been set on fire in France, and the academic year has descended into nationwide student protests and turmoil just a month after the new term began.
Protests Spread Nationwide
Friday brought more scenes that have dominated streets this week: vandalism, garbage fires, and teens confronting and taunting police. Officers charged, fired tear gas, and made more arrests. By early afternoon, the education ministry reported protests impacting 560 schools.
Taking grievances to France's streets has long been a rite of passage in the country that spawned the French Revolution of 1789. Previous examples include student protests in 1968, weeks of suburban unrest in 2005, and demonstrations in 2023 against pension reforms.
Student Tactics and Grievances
The students now barricading high-school gates and demonstrating with placards have shown the know-how of veterans, down to wearing masks and goggles against police tear gas.
High schoolers are expressing broad grievances, mainly that schools are under-resourced, with dilapidated facilities and insufficient staff. Students also complain that school days, which often start at 8 a.m., are too exhausting and the university entrance system too complex. Some university students also joined the protests this week.
Political Context
The timing of these protests, with France engaged in a presidential election race, sets them apart. Candidates campaigning to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in May have seized on the demonstrations as a hot political issue. Although constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term, Macron also joined the fray, speaking out against protest violence and political manipulation of the young demonstrators.
Protests first erupted last week in the Paris region and spread nationwide like wildfire, even to smaller towns. Spending on education is one of the costliest items in the state budget that Macron's government proposed this week, with 65.5 billion euros ($74 billion) set aside for schools in the next year, more than the proposed 63.4 billion euros for defense.
