Student Protests Continue in France

Image Credit: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images via Financial Times

Tensions between lycée (high school) students and French local authorities have escalated significantly, with students setting fire to schools and engaging in violent clashes across France over the past two weeks.

The now widespread movement began on the 21st September with a smaller protest against overcrowded classrooms in Créteil, a Parisian suburb.

Two weeks later, frustrations over underfunding in education reached a boiling point on Tuesday 6th October, with over 250,000 student protesters filling the streets according to the French Interior Ministry. Another estimate provided by the Union Syndicale Lyceenne - the main high school student union in France - listed around 450,000 protesters. The protests have led to around 7,000 arrests in recent weeks. 

The police’s use of tear gas has come under public scrutiny, particularly after a minor in North-West Paris suffered a fractured jaw in addition to losing several teeth after being hit by a grenade

In his address to the National Assembly on 6 October, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu condemned the protestor’s “ultraviolence” and dismissed the “lie” that suggests there is “intention and voluntary disproportion” in the police’s handling of the protests.

Nevertheless, civil unrest has continued. In response, the Minister of Education has proposed adding 3000 supply teachers to schools in the coming days. 

Amongst this unrest, France is facing a growing debt crisis after years of excessive public spending. As such, the government has extremely limited flexibility on authorising additional spending.