PARIS — A wave of high school protests that began over teacher shortages and overcrowded classrooms has spiraled into nationwide unrest that France’s government now calls “urban violence,” with riot police deployed, hundreds of schools closed, nearly 2,000 people arrested in a single day, and student organizations vowing to keep demonstrating.
The movement began about 10 days ago at the Saint-Exupéry high school in Créteil, a Paris suburb, and has spread to one in four high schools across the country, according to Le Monde. On Thursday, October 1, more than 1,020 high schools were affected by strikes or protests, including 222 blockades, the Education Ministry said. Police arrested 1,949 people that day, and 65 education staff and 170 students have been injured since the movement began, Education Minister Édouard Geffray said.
The protests have turned increasingly destructive. Plumes of smoke from burning trash bins were seen in several major cities; the entrance hall of the Nelson-Mandela high school in Nantes was burned, and the Beaugrenelle high school in Paris was set on fire on Friday, according to French media. Public transportation was temporarily suspended in Strasbourg, Orléans, Nice, La Rochelle and Marseille to limit clashes. Geffray said the movement had been “taken hostage by ultra-violent groups,” a charge echoed by the Interior Ministry.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened a crisis cabinet meeting on Thursday, saying the movement had shifted “toward urban violence,” and warned against exploiting students’ anger for political ends. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced he had called in riot police and mobile gendarmes “to restore republican order.” On Friday, about 400 high schools were closed on prefects’ orders, with many switching to distance learning; in Belfort, a plainclothes officer was knocked unconscious by a group of youths, and an investigation was opened for attempted murder.
Students are demanding action on teacher shortages — nearly 10% of teaching hours went untaught in public secondary schools last year — class sizes of up to 35 pupils, and deteriorating buildings. Geffray met education unions, student organizations and parents’ groups on Friday and announced a platform for students to submit reform proposals. But student organizations called for continued demonstrations, citing a lack of concrete measures, and teachers’ unions called a strike for Tuesday. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin told prosecutors to seek parental civil liability so families would pay for damage caused by their children.