Paris — On Friday, high school students in France set fires outside educational institutions and confronted law enforcement as a protest movement that has led to the closure or disruption of over 560 schools showed no signs of diminishing.
Initiated in the Paris area last week, the movement quickly expanded across the country, with final-year students obstructing access to their schools and engaging in confrontations with police.
The protesters are voicing their concerns about excessively lengthy school hours, poor conditions characterized by overheated classrooms and deteriorating facilities, as well as frequent staff absences.
“We went an entire year without a science teacher. We also lack textbooks,” stated Simon, a 15-year-old student who opted not to disclose his last name outside Turgot high school in central Paris. “And we’re among the fortunate ones. The situation is even more dire in the suburbs.”
The government has acknowledged the legitimacy of the students’ complaints but has denounced what it refers to as “urban violence.”
Students have claimed that police have employed excessive force, resulting in injuries, by repeatedly using tear gas canisters to disperse crowds during the protests.
On Friday in Paris, fires were reported at the entrances of two high schools, prompting the fire brigade to respond and extinguish the flames, as noted by an AFP photographer.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray remarked that “the high school student movement is being manipulated by violent fringe groups.” His ministry reported that educational activities have been disrupted in more than 560 of the 3,700 high schools nationwide, with over 1,000 schools affected the previous day, according to the interior ministry.
Many high schools are preparing to conduct online classes, particularly in the southern city of Marseille.
Since the onset of the protests, at least 65 staff members have sustained injuries, including 40 school principals, Geffray disclosed to BFMTV, while around 170 students have also been injured and over 100 schools have experienced significant damage.
“Parents need to take a stand and tell their children to refrain from participating” in the protests, he urged. “The priority now is to keep our children off the streets, as they are at risk.”
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin announced that he has directed prosecutors to hold parents accountable for damages incurred by their children during the protests and to cover repair costs.
Since the protests began, approximately 2,000 individuals have been taken into police custody, with “90% being minors,” Darmanin stated during an interview with RTL.
In Rennes, tensions were evident outside Jean-Mace high school, where students dressed in black and wearing balaclavas gathered near a significant police presence.
“As far as we’re concerned, we’ve achieved our goal — our school is closed this morning,” declared Lola, 16, who also chose not to provide her last name.
She criticized what she described as police brutality. “It only fuels our anger — the police have no right to hit us or deploy tear gas against us,” she asserted.
Police utilized tear gas at Kerichen high school in Brest, as captured by an AFP photographer.
The protests have also reverberated politically, occurring just over six months prior to presidential elections, with the government accusing the far-left party France Unbowed (LFI) — whose outspoken leader Jean-Luc Melenchon is once again running for the presidency — of instigating the movement.
However, senior LFI figure Manuel Bompard dismissed these claims, asserting that the government is engaging in “conspiracy theories.”
