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A protest movement in France’s high schools intensified on Thursday, with students setting fire to bins and erecting blockades outside schools in an increasing number of cities.
The students have been protesting overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and crumbling facilities.
Several school principals have been injured, harassed or assaulted at high schools, according to reports from regional education authorities, prefectures and union representatives.
Police have already detained hundreds of protesters at the lycées, which students aged 15 to 18 attend for their final three years of secondary education in France. There have been multiple reports of high school students being injured.
University students have now also joined the protest movement, and have blocked access to around 30 campuses across the country.
A security source said there had been 900 blockades or related incidents across the country on Thursday, with more than 160 schools shut down in Paris, Marseille and other cities.
In neighbouring Belgium, there were protests and damage at a handful of schools in the eastern city of Liege, police said.
Protesters demand better conditions
At a Paris high school where students barricaded an entrance, one 18-year-old student said protesters want to target “overloaded schedules, the system, the teachers, people who don’t listen to us, the university application process.”
High school students in France often start classes at 8 am and remain at school until late afternoon.
“Older people say, ‘Kids, go to school from 8 am to 6 pm every day.’ But you don’t know what that does mentally,” said another Paris high school student.
Clashes in Lille and Paris
In Lille, the protest led to particularly tense scenes. Bins were tipped over onto the road, projectiles were thrown and street furniture was damaged. Police intervened to disperse the demonstrators, charging into them and firing tear gas.
In Paris and in several communes in Île-de-France, clashes also broke out between young people and police. The movement had already led to several hundred arrests since the start of the week, mostly of minors.
Three investigations have also been opened by the IGPN after injuries sustained during blockades. In Tours, a student injured in the head on Wednesday was taken to hospital. According to the public prosecutor, his injuries were consistent with those of a non-lethal rubber bullet.
University students join the movement
After a first nationwide day of action on Tuesday, university students joined the movement on Thursday. Around 30 campuses were blocked, according to the France’s leading students’ union. Lower secondary schools were also affected in some regions.
Seconday and high school student organisations are calling above all for greater resources, replacement teachers and better teaching conditions. They say they intend to continue protesting, while the government now tries to contain the violence and keep access to schools open.
Political reactions
The government as well as far-right politician Marine Le Pen have accused the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party of encouraging the protests.
But LFI’s candidate for the 2027 presidential election, Jean-Luc Melenchon, said on Wednesday that his party “called for non-violent methods of struggle”.