ZURICH, November 02 (AJP) - High school students in France resumed blocking their schools on Monday, sustaining a youth movement that has joined a wider wave of anger over living costs across Europe.
The first day back after a two-week holiday was quieter than organizers had hoped. France’s Education Ministry said 41 of about 3,700 high schools were blocked on Monday morning, around 1 percent, and three-quarters of the country’s regions reported no disruption. The high school student union, Union syndicale lycéenne (USL), gave a higher figure, saying more than 150 schools had joined protests in some form by midday.
Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said long-term blockades “cannot be a solution.” Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu repeated that he was ready to meet student representatives next week.
Why students are protesting
The movement began on Sept. 21, when students at French high schools, which serve teenagers aged roughly 15 to 18, started blocking school gates with garbage bins and barriers. Within about a week, more than 400 schools had been blocked nationwide.
Their main complaints are teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings in public schools. Students have also called for an end to Parcoursup, France’s national online university admissions system, which many see as stressful and unfair. Student leaders have demanded 10 billion euros in new investment in education.
The government’s offers so far have not satisfied them. Youth organizations called the measures a first step that falls short. At one blocked school outside Paris, an organizer said students would keep protesting until the government stopped offering what he called token measures.
The protests have at times turned violent, with burning barricades and attacks on school principals. Police tactics have also come under scrutiny. Authorities opened 18 investigations through the national police watchdog and suspended the use of stun grenades at school protests.
From classrooms to the streets
The school protests have since merged with a broader movement against the rising cost of living, including fuel prices.
On Saturday, France saw its third straight weekend of nationwide protests. Authorities counted 320,000 demonstrators, while unions put the figure at about 500,000. The Interior Ministry said 779 people were arrested and 116 police officers and other security personnel were injured.
Paris imposed an overnight curfew on two of its main squares over the weekend.
The government now faces a difficult week. Student groups have called for blockades of high schools and universities on Tuesday, along with a march in Paris to the headquarters of Medef, France’s main business federation. Unions have called a nationwide strike against rising living costs on Thursday, Nov. 5, and a major teachers’ union for secondary schools is preparing to join.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray called the blockades illegal and warned that the school year was at risk for several hundred thousand students.
A European pattern
France is not alone. Over the same weekend, youth protests over living costs turned violent in Germany, where looting broke out in Frankfurt, and in the Swiss cities of Zurich and Basel. Large protests also took place in Portugal and Italy.
For the French government, the challenge is to calm a young generation whose anger over schools has become part of a much wider revolt over the cost of everyday life.
AJP Takeaways
- French high school students resumed school blockades on Monday after a holiday, though the Education Ministry said only about 1 percent of high schools were affected.
- French students are protesting teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and the Parcoursup University admissions system, and their movement has merged with nationwide protests over the cost of living.
- France faces student blockades on Tuesday and a nationwide strike on Thursday, as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu offers to meet student representatives next week.
- Tags: France, Sébastien Lecornu, Maud Bregeon, Édouard Geffray, Education Ministry, USL, Parcoursup, Medef, cost of living, youth protests, strikes
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
