Hundreds of schools shut down as France’s student protest intensifies

France’s student protest (CREDIT: Skynew/Reuters)

Almost 900 high schools across France have either been partially or totally closed due to clashes between riot police and student protesters in the past days.

The clashes stem from growing student anger over poor conditions in French schools, including teacher shortages, inadequate resources, and deteriorating facilities. What began as a small school protest at Saint-Exupéry high school in a Parisian suburb on 21 September and attracted little attention has now snowballed into a nationwide demonstration.

The French Ministry of Education estimates that 891 schools across France have suspended classes because of the protests.

The country is presently experiencing what appears to be the biggest day of the protest so far. The Guardian reported that almost 90,000 students, staff and parents have taken to the streets in cities across France.

The French high school students’ union said the number of protesters on the streets across the country has “reached a new record” on Tuesday, according to Sky News.

The demonstration has been dubbed “Act Three” by the school union.

Images of the protest, which surfaced online, show riot police facing off with demonstrators in the capital.

The face-off on Monday between the protesters and riot police left several injured. A 15-year-old lost a hand in a grenade explosion in the northern city of Lens. Police reports said that he had picked up a stun grenade.

The AFP news agency reported that the student likely picked up a rubber sting-ball or ”de-encirclement” grenade, fired by riot police, in an attempt to throw it back before it exploded in his hand.

According to French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, hundreds of police officers and students have been injured during recent protests across the country.

Mr Lecornu told the French parliament this afternoon that at least 215 students have been injured since the protests began, alongside 85 school workers and 715 gendarmes and police officers.

He described the numbers as the highest in decades to affect workers in the education system.

He also condemned the “trivialisation” of violence, and said it was “unacceptable.”

“Burning down a high school does not improve the state of high school buildings,” he said. “Lynching a teacher does not help replace teachers.”

He also insisted it was a lie to suggest the government had ordered “police repression” against demonstrators.

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