France is preparing for a national day of school protests and high-school blockades on Tuesday as a youth movement over education conditions gains momentum and concerns grow about the police response.
A 15-year-old boy lost his hand outside a high school in the northern town of Lens while taking part in protests against what demonstrators described as dilapidated and understaffed schools. The prefect of Pas-de-Calais, François-Xavier Lauch, said between 150 and 200 protesters had been throwing objects at police when riot officers intervened. He declined to confirm the exact circumstances of the injury and said it was unclear whether a police stun grenade was involved. An investigation has been opened.
Separately, the family of a 16-year-old pupil in Tours has filed a complaint alleging police violence after the teenager lost sight in his right eye last week. Prosecutors said the injuries were consistent with the impact of a police rubber bullet, and a police investigation is under way.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has acknowledged the students’ grievances as legitimate and ordered ministers to address their main demands. These include ensuring absent teachers are replaced, reviewing France’s long school days, and repairing poorly maintained school buildings that have suffered from leaking roofs, pest infestations, collapsing ceilings and extreme summer heat. Ministers have been asked to present proposals by the end of the month.
Sophie Binet, head of the CGT trade union, said the government had been slow to respond. She noted that the number of unreplaced absent teachers had doubled over the past decade and that class sizes had reached record levels. She called for an end to budget cuts and reductions in teaching posts, and criticised what she described as a heavy-handed police approach to the protests.
Student unions have called for widespread action on Tuesday, with trade unionists, teachers, public-sector workers and parents’ groups expected to join marches across the country. University students have also shown support, with up to 40 university buildings blockaded. Between 400 and 500 high schools were expected to be fully or partly closed on Monday out of a national total of around 3,700.
The protests began in late September at a high school in a Paris suburb over teacher shortages and then spread nationwide amid wider anger about underinvestment and inequality in the education system. Since the previous Monday, around 5,000 people, mostly teenagers, have been arrested and dozens injured. Teachers have also been hurt, and property damage has been estimated in the tens of millions of euros. A government spokesperson said the priority remained restoring order.