Tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected to take to the streets of Paris on Tuesday as France’s powerful trade unions join high school students protesting for improved conditions amid escalating clashes with police.
Local authorities expect between 20,000 and 40,000 protesters to gather in the French capital, reports AFP.
Students aged 15 to 17 have been blocking entrances to hundreds of high schools since late September, protesting missing teachers, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and school buildings unable to cope with rising temperatures.
While many demonstrations have remained peaceful, some students have set fire to dustbins, damaged bus shelters and clashed with riot police. Officers have responded with batons, tear gas and riot-control rounds.
Government statistics show that 215 students, 715 police officers and 85 teaching staff have been injured since the protest movement began. In a serious incident on Monday, a 15-year-old demonstrator lost a hand after picking up a sting-ball grenade deployed by riot officers.
Teaching has already been disrupted at 589 of the country’s 3,700 lycées and 32 universities, according to figures from the education ministry and a student union. Further nationwide protests are scheduled for Tuesday.
The unrest comes just months before the 2027 presidential election, which will choose a successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron, who is completing his maximum two terms in office.
In response to the unrest, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s office has called for “peaceful” gatherings and urged protesters to return to “a structured, legal and democratic form of opposition”.
Lecornu has sought to address concerns over missing teachers and the renovation of dilapidated buildings. However, the government has accused hard-left activists of hijacking the protest movement.
Since the movement began, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked, according to the education minister. Security forces have arrested more than 5,000 people, with minors accounting for 87 per cent of those detained.
Several trade unions have also accused police of using disproportionate force. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said late on Monday that law enforcement authorities had opened 10 internal investigations into allegations of brutality since the demonstrations began.
Sophie Binet, head of the CGT labour union, said its members would be present to “protect high-school students”.
The government is also pushing legislation to make those responsible for damaging public property pay for repairs directly, rather than relying on public funds.
Lecornu said the draft law could allow compensation payments to be recovered from family allowances and housing benefits while ensuring a minimum income.
However, Binet strongly condemned the proposed legislation, saying it would “end up targeting the most vulnerable families”.
