French presidential campaign heats up as student protests fuel political clashes
The protests have spread to more than 330 schools, with 164 arrests and 10 students and staff wounded, officials said.
- On Monday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu warned that escalating student protests are "irresponsible" following the arrest of 164 individuals. Across France, 180 schools faced disruptions, with 12 students, 12 security personnel, and three staff members injured.
- Protesters cite 10 years of President Emmanuel Macron's policies, citing teacher shortages, dilapidated schools, and Parcoursup stress. The Union Syndicale Lycéenne called the blockades a "legitimate response" to systemic neglect in the education system.
- Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described demonstrations as "urban violence" involving masked individuals with fireworks and projectiles. BFMTV reported that in one incident, a police officer fired a grenade launcher, injuring a high school student in Alpes-Maritimes.
- Lecornu accused the far-left France Unbowed party of encouraging unrest, while LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon blamed the government for having "ordered the crackdown," calling students "harmless." The clash reflects intensifying political divisions.
- These clashes occur as the government attempts to pass a 2027 state budget through the National Assembly amid divided political support. Simultaneously, unions representing civil servants and hospital staff initiated walkouts, compounding pressure on Lecornu's administration.
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Bad equipment, too large classes, inequality: For days, French students have been blowing up their displeasure in protest. Some now joined officials who went to the streets against the government's austerity policy. By Julia Borutta.
In France, classes have been disrupted in hundreds of schools because students have taken over school buildings and are not letting teachers in. Students are demanding better learning conditions and less homework.
According to the Ministry of National Education, 338 schools have been affected by actions or disruptions since the beginning of the day. The blockades could be renewed on Thursday.
More than 300 high schools were mobilized on Tuesday across France to defend an identical right to education for all. The accusations of police violence, and the massive presence of law enforcement forces, especially in the Paris suburbs, add to this mobilisation. At the top of the state, LFI is accused of blowing on the embers.
Protests of high school students have spread in France, where hundreds of educational units have been affected by demonstrations against overcrowded classes, lack of teachers and busy hours. In several cities, clashes with the police have erupted, and...
At noon, access to 40 high schools was still completely blocked, while 44 other schools tried to build blockades.
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