Nearly 400 of France's 3,700 secondary schools were closed on Friday as fast-growing protests over long hours, teacher shortages and decaying facilities escalated into “urban violence”. More than 3,500 high school students have been arrested, including 1,900 on Thursday and a further 600 on Friday.
Schools disrupted and staff injured
Authorities said 564 schools and educational establishments were disrupted on Friday, with at least 65 staff members injured. Protesters wearing masks and goggles have clashed with riot police, who responded by charging crowds, firing tear gas and using batons.
It has been alleged that police and school staff have been targeted with fireworks and other projectiles, with claims that acid had been hurled in some cases. Students returned from summer holidays just a month ago, with protests first erupting last week in the Paris region and rapidly spreading nationwide, even to smaller towns.
Student grievances and vandalism
Students complaining that their education is under-resourced have been barricading high-school gates and demonstrating with placards. They also complain that school days, which often start at 8am, are too exhausting and the university entrance system too complex.
One student protesting in Paris said: “I think France is one of the worst European countries when it comes to education. We’ve decided that’s enough. We're not here to be nice but we don't want chaos. We just want our voice to be heard by the government.”
There has also been extensive vandalism, with bins and schools set on fire and teens confronting and taunting police. Images have shown burning barricades in the Pantin suburb of Paris, with crowds of protesters and riot police on the streets. Fire damaged the entrances of two high schools in Paris – Leonard de Vinci in the south of the city and Gaston-Bachelard in the south-east.
Serious incidents and external 'casseurs'
It was reported that a high school student was seriously injured during protests in the border region of Alsace. An aerosol or device of “pyrotechnic type” was allegedly put into a bin which the teen then “grabbed”, injuring himself. Video posted online shows a group of masked people, some dressed all in black, attacking a fire engine outside Lycee Saint-Expury in Marseille. Aftermath photos show the fire engine completely burned out on the road, as well as the school building daubed in graffiti.
Another video by a bus stop near the city's port shows a hooded individual spraying what appears to be a makeshift aerosol flamethrower at a woman's face before walking away. Students dressed in black and wearing balaclavas protesting outside a high school in Rennes boasted: “As far as we're concerned, we've won - our school is closed this morning.”
In Nantes on Thursday, many students were in tears as they watched the Nelson-Mandela school burning. Fire spread inside the building and damaged the cafeteria and other areas. One girl posted online: “People from outside... (non-pupils) came to blockade the school; things degenerated and they started a fire.”
Government response and political fallout
There is a widespread belief across France that the students' campaign is often being hijacked by external 'casseurs' - vandals. Many pupils whose schools have been damaged or closed are having to continue their education remotely, if their safety cannot be guaranteed.
The government said the grievances were legitimate but condemned what it called “urban violence”. French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said he wants parents to be liable for damage caused by children during the school protests. He said: “Parents must fulfill their responsibilities as parents. What are 15 and 16-year-old kids doing attacking bus shelters or their school principals.”
He said there is an “active and violent minority” taking part in the protests, adding: “We're not entirely sure that they are even high school students themselves. We have gone from high-school student demonstrations to a public order disturbance. When people target buses and set schools on fire, it is no longer simply a protest issue.”
Education Minister Édouard Geffray said “more than a hundred” schools have experienced “severe damage” since the beginning of the protests. He also said the student protests movement had been “hijacked” and that teachers had told him that “the people in front of me were not my students”.
Spending on education is one of the costliest items in the French state budget. The Macron government this week proposed 65.5 billion euros (£56b) be set aside for schools in the next year - more than the proposed 63.4 billion euros for defense. The unrest is shaping political battle lines between presidential candidates ahead of next year's May election. Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon has supported the students and has decried police actions as “savagery” and repressive. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has called for broader police powers against rioters. Conservative former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, one of Le Pen's main challengers for the presidency, has condemned those who “break things, burn things, or assault people”.
