France Races to Quell Escalating Student Protests
Kabarsaji.com – TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The French government is rushing to contain growing nationwide student protests after 10 days of school blockades and street marches over deteriorating conditions in public education.Demonstrations flared again on Thursday, October 8, as high school students took to the streets through major cities including Paris, Lille, Rennes, Nantes, Lyon, and Marseille, The Guardian reported.In the capital, around 25,000 students gathered at Place de la Bastille, waving French flags and climbing the historic July Revolution monument. As evening fell, riot police deployed tear gas, water cannons, and baton charges to disperse crowds, while some demonstrators threw bottles and paving stones at officers.According to figures from the French Interior Ministry cited by DW, more than 71,000 people participated in Thursday's rally, with police making over 500 arrests. The protests, which began in late September, have led to more than 6,600 total arrests.As cited by The Guardian, clashes have resulted in injuries to at least 215 teenagers, 89 school staff members, and 761 police officers.In response to the disruption, Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced on TF1 television Thursday night that the government will deploy 3,000 substitute teachers to about 100 high schools facing severe staffing shortages between Friday and Tuesday.Geffray also pledged to authorize the recruitment of "several hundred" new teachers, review long school timetables, which often run from 8 a.m.
to 6 p.m., and improve Parcoursup, the country's controversial university application portal.Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu added that the government will propose budget amendments for 2027 to address student demands. On Wednesday evening, Lecornu promised "concrete, quick, and fully funded responses" by late October, while lamenting the "violence, students and staff being attacked, police officers and gendarmes injured, schools set on fire or vandalized, thousands of hours of classes lost."Student Leaders Demand Deeper ChangesStudent union representatives dismissed the government's initial response as inadequate. Ryad Rani, president of a prominent high school students' union, criticized the announcements, saying protesters heard "no concrete measures whatsoever, no response to our demands." Rani added, "Yesterday, Mr.
Lecornu gave us a lot of hot air. The mobilization will continue, we're not backing down on anything."Sabrine Kharbach, another student association representative, told The Guardian that protests over missing teachers, long hours, and aging buildings would persist "for as long as €10bn hasn't been put on the table." Students and left-wing politicians argue that €10 billion in urgent investment is needed to repair decaying school infrastructure.Protesters say classroom conditions have reached a breaking point. High school teacher Diane Di Sciullo, who joined student marches in Marseille, told Reuters she is teaching 37 students in a single class.
"At the start of every lesson, I have to ask them to check the neighboring classrooms for spare chairs and desks so they can actually study," she said, holding a placard that read: "I'm a teacher and my students help me catch cockroaches in class."Controversy over Police ResponseProtesters have also directed anger at the police response, with placards reading: "Too young to be listened to, but old enough to be teargassed."According to reports from DW, the government suspended the use of stun grenades for crowd control on Wednesday after a teenage protester lost a hand in an explosion. Officials denied that officers had orders to confront students or that systemic repression was taking place.The student movement has created a difficult dilemma for the government, which is balancing demands for public service funding against pressure from financial markets to curb France's rising national debt. While schools received a 1.4 percent funding increase to €90.9bn in the draft 2027 budget, Economy Minister Roland Lescure noted there is room to allocate additional resources.An Elabe poll for BFM TV cited by The Guardian found that 72 percent of the French public view the students' demands as legitimate, though 55 percent believe the street protests should end.
Student unions have called for another nationwide day of action next Tuesday, with additional calls circulating online for protests on October 17. Similar student demonstrations have also been reported in neighboring Belgium, including in Brussels, Ciney, and Liège.Read: France: Trade Unions Join Students in Major DemonstrationClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
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