21 hrs ago
France Blames Radical Left as School Protests Turn Violent
French high-school students have been protesting problems at their schools.
They say classrooms are too crowded and buildings need repairs.
They also say there are not enough teachers, supervisors or resources.
Some protests included blocked entrances, fires and damage in several cities.
Officials said many people were arrested and police officers were injured.
Some school workers and a journalist were also reportedly attacked.
The government said the radical left helped organize the violence.
France Unbowed denied this and said it had called for peaceful methods.
Students blockaded schools across France over overcrowding, teacher shortages and deteriorating facilities.
Authorities said 1,949 people were arrested and 305 officers injured on Thursday.
Of France’s 3,700 lycees, 1,027 were affected and 222 faced blockades, officials said.
School staff and journalists were reportedly assaulted, while fires and property damage occurred in several cities.
The government blamed the radical left, but France Unbowed rejected the accusation and said it supported nonviolent protest.
- Who
- French high-school students, school staff, police, government officials and France Unbowed figures are involved.
- What
- School protests over conditions escalated into blockades, clashes, fires, arrests and reported assaults.
- Where
- The protests spread from the Paris suburbs to cities including Marseille, Nantes, Strasbourg, Toulouse and Lille; some damage was also reported in Liège, Belgium.
- When
- The latest major incidents occurred on Thursday, after protests began the previous week.
- Why
- Students cited overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, poor facilities, heat, inadequate resources and other school grievances; the government separately alleged that the radical left organized the violence, a claim France Unbowed rejected.
Government and security authorities
France Unbowed and student protesters
Cause of the violence
Government and security authorities
The prime minister’s office said the demonstrations had become urban violence and cited intelligence services in claiming they were organized by the radical left.
France Unbowed and student protesters
Manuel Bompard and Jean-Luc Mélenchon of France Unbowed rejected the allegation, with Bompard calling it conspiratorial thinking and Mélenchon saying the party had called for nonviolent methods.
Nature of the protests
Government and security authorities
Officials emphasized assaults on school staff, attacks on property, fires and clashes, and Interior Minister Laurent Nunez condemned what he called unbridled violence.
France Unbowed and student protesters
Students and their supporters emphasized overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, deteriorating buildings, excessive heat and insufficient school resources.
Police response
Government and security authorities
Authorities deployed police and gendarmes, made mass arrests and reported injuries among officers; internal probes were opened into alleged police brutality against three pupils.
France Unbowed and student protesters
Protesters continued blockades and demonstrations, while reports of alleged police brutality added to concerns about the response.
Key facts
- Arrests
- The interior ministry reported 1,949 arrests on Thursday.
- Injured officers
- The ministry said 305 police officers and gendarmes were injured.
- Affected lycees
- Authorities said 1,027 of France’s 3,700 lycees were affected.
- School blockades
- Blockades were reported at 222 lycees.
- Paris region
- Around 50 schools were described as scenes of violence, clashes and damage.
- University involvement
- A student union said access to about 30 university campuses was blocked on Thursday.
- Reported school conditions
- Students cited classes of about 35 pupils, high summer temperatures, insufficient toilets, water leaks and inadequate resources.
Quotes
Raphael
A 17-year-old student protesting outside a school in Strasbourg
“There are 35 of us per classroom. With 35C in summer, it's unbearable. There aren't enough toilets, and there are water leaks in some rooms.”
NDTV
“The building is falling apart, the cafeteria is too small. There's zero budget, zero resources, not enough supervisors.”
NDTV
Sources
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