France is braced for another day of protests as high school students across the country continue to demonstrate against teacher shortages, poor facilities, and overcrowded classrooms.
Students and unions are taking to the streets once more on Thursday as they say the government is failing to listen to their demands, with a major rally planned in Paris.
Students have blocked access to high schools since late September, setting fire to bins and erecting blockades as part of the movement.
A Euronews journalist on the ground in Paris’ 5th arrondissement on Thursday morning reported that the streets were already filled with students, some of whom had been dragging bins into the streets and chanting since 6:30 am.
One student outside the prestigious Lycée Henri-IV told Euronews that they had come to stage a blockade “to show our full support for the suburban secondary schools.”
“They were the ones who started this movement and were immediately cracked down on by the police,” they said.
Another student from a technological school in the 5th arrondissement said: “For six months we’ve had no teacher, there’s no supply teacher, and we’re sitting our baccalauréat in that subject.”
“At school, to be honest, our living conditions aren’t great,” they continued, adding: “Personally, I don’t think it’s normal to finish at 5.45 pm – or rather, 6 pm.”
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu addressed the nation on Wednesday evening in an effort to ease the crisis, promising the government would share a plan to respond to the situation by the end of October and denying that law enforcement officers had been “instructed to confront secondary school pupils.”
“Their role is to protect property, but above all people; to ensure that the law is upheld; and to allow access to schools,” he said.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray also announced on Thursday that he would present an “emergency plan” to address teacher absences within the “coming hours or days.”
Protests have at times descended into violent clashes with riot police, resulting in a number of serious injuries, including one teenager who lost his hand.
Unions, rights groups, and students have accused officers of using disproportionate force, but French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has defended the response to the protests and said that authorities would “continue to do what we are doing: maintaining order and intervening proportionately whenever violence breaks out.”
France has nevertheless moved to temporarily suspend the use of stun grenades in policing the demonstrations.
Anne Savinel-Barras, the president of Amnesty International France, welcomed the decision but said further action was needed.
“Protests should not be battlefields. Stun grenades are designed to shock, disorient, and sow panic, often among dense crowds at demonstrations,” she said. “Some can cause permanent hearing loss as well as life-changing mutilations due to the blast and shrapnel.”
Thousands of people – the majority minors – have been arrested since the protests began.