Riot police clashed with protesters as they took over the Bastille Square in Paris, charging thousands of schoolchildren with batons and unleashing water cannons in an attempt to clear the square.
Political support for the youth movement
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a candidate for La France insoumise in the 2027 Presidential election, said: 'The Bastille has been retaken. Powerful demonstration by the youth who carry their demands in the most beautiful way possible. Immense pride. See you on Tuesday, October 13, at the call of the youth unions and workers.'
The Storming of the Bastille took place on 14 July 1789 in Paris and is one of the key events of the French Revolution. The Bastille was a medieval fortress and prison that had become a symbol of the absolute power of King Louis XVI.
Students threaten violence if demands ignored
One schoolboy warned that it was 'normal' if violent outbursts occurred, if students' demands were 'not be heard'.
'All the revolutions in history have served a purpose,' he told EuroNews. 'In 1789, there were a lot of deaths. We don't want to have deaths, but we could revert to violence as a means of expression. The goal is not to perpetrate violence to hurt people, but it's to use violence to change the system that harms us'.
Anouk Vandecasteele, an English teacher at a school in Lille, is one of the many educators to have joined the growing student protests. 'There is definitely a form of police brutality which has been previously unseen because it has not been directed towards young people before,' she told Metro. 'The fact that today they are injuring kids is unacceptable. That's one of the reasons why we are there.'
Injuries reported at protests
Earlier this week, at a 250-strong protest in nearby Lens, a 15-year-old reportedly had his hand 'blown off' when a stun grenade thrown by riot police detonated after he picked it up. Anouk has also heard reports of students losing eyes and of a 14-year-old who lost teeth after their jaw was broken.
She said: '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. 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.'
She told Metro: 'I'm ready for anything to make sure that my students have the same opportunities that I had. I feel outraged and at the same time I feel like I'm never going to give up and I think that's how the students feel too. Above all I feel proud.'
Underfunding and social mobility
Underfunding poses a serious threat to social mobility in France; a child born and schooled in a deprived neighbourhood there has less chance of escaping their socioeconomic background than in most other developed nations, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
