Hundreds of schools across France were closed on Friday as a student protest movement over worsening conditions turned increasingly turbulent, with clashes reported between demonstrators and police.
At least 400 of France’s 3,700 high schools were closed, according to the Ministry of National Education, while 560 reported protests or disruptions. The demonstrations began at high schools in the Paris area last week before spreading nationwide, reports Al Jazeera.
Masked students blockaded schools, set fires in streets and confronted police as they protested large class sizes and a shortage of teachers on Friday.
In the Paris suburb of Pantin, 15-year-old Kesia told Reuters that students were struggling with overcrowded classrooms and inadequate facilities.
“We are 35 per class, we don’t have enough chairs in classrooms, the one-hour lunch break [is too short] for everyone to get food,” she said before running off as police deployed tear gas.
Fire brigade units were called after fires damaged the entrances of two high schools in the capital — Leonard de Vinci in the south of the city and Gaston-Bachelard in the south-east.
Protesting students waved placards reading, “We have a future to build, not to endure”.
The school protests have coincided with a broader public sector strike against the government’s budget plans, increasing political pressure on President Emmanuel Macron ahead of elections next year.
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said about 2,000 people had been detained so far, the vast majority of them children. Speaking to RTL, Darmanin said parents should be held liable for damage caused by their children and “pay for repairs”.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray also urged parents to “tell their children not to go” to the protests.
In comments to BFMTV, Geffray said at least 170 students and 65 school staff members, including 40 principals, had been wounded. More than 100 high schools had also suffered “severe damage”.
“What matters now is ensuring our children are no longer out on the streets, because they are in danger,” Geffray said.
Human rights organisation Amnesty International expressed grave concern over the response to the demonstrations. In a social media post, it said, “the images of high school students being assaulted by law enforcement are extremely alarming”.
“Many are minors, children,” the organisation said, adding: “They must be protected, not beaten with batons”.
Outside Jean-Mace high school in the western city of Rennes, 16-year-old Lola told AFP that she was angry over what she described as police violence.
“It makes us even angrier – the police have no right to hit us or use tear gas on us,” she said.
The French government has accused the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party of taking control of the protest movement. Senior LFI official Manuel Bompard dismissed the allegation as a “conspiracy theory”.
In an effort to ease tensions, Geffray said he planned to meet education unions and student associations on Friday to create space for dialogue.
