Mélenchon backs French student protests and calls for voting age of 16

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a French far-left presidential candidate, praised high school students protesting school conditions at a campaign rally in Clermont-Ferrand on Sunday.

The nationwide protests focus on deteriorating buildings, teacher shortages and unequal conditions in disadvantaged areas.

The movement has sometimes turned violent, with more than 6,600 arrests and hundreds of people injured, including students, teachers and police.

Mélenchon says his party is not organizing the protests and wants them to remain peaceful, while critics accuse him of using the movement for electoral gain.

He proposed allowing people to vote from age 16 and ending selective admissions to universities, whose entry system has angered protesters.

The protests have prompted the government to hire substitute teachers urgently and rearrange school schedules, but students say these steps are not enough.

Mélenchon hopes young people’s growing political engagement will increase youth turnout in next year’s presidential election, scheduled for April and May.