What to know as France school protests morph into unrest and the streets are seething
Thousands of arrests, hundreds of injuries, schools set on fire in France. When the summer vacation ended and the new term started just a month ago, few could have imagined that the academic year would so quickly descend into nationwide student protests — and turmoil.
In a country beset by crises — both foreign and domestic — the eruption and rapid spread of protests by unhappy teenage high schoolers caught France off guard.
Friday brought more of the scenes that have dominated streets this week: vandalism, garbage fires, teens confronting and taunting police. Officers charging, firing tear gas and making more arrests. By early afternoon, the education ministry reported protests impacting 560 schools.
Taking grievances to France’s streets has long been a rite of passage in the country that spawned the French Revolution of 1789. To name just a few, there were the student protests in 1968, weeks of suburban unrest in 2005 and demonstrations in 2023 against pension reforms.
The students now barricading high-school gates and demonstrating with placards have shown the know-how of veterans — down to wearing masks and googles against police tear gas.
The timing of these protests — with France engaged in a presidential election race — sets them apart. Candidates campaigning to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in May have seized on the demonstations as a hot political issue.
And although constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term, Macron also joined the fray, speaking out against protest violence and political manipulation of the young demonstrators.
Here is what you need to know:
The demonstrations started in the Paris region
Protests first erupted last week in the Paris region and spread nationwide like wildfire, even to smaller towns.
High schoolers are expressing broad grievances — mainly, schools are under-resourced, with dilapidated facilities and insufficient staff. Still, spending on education is one of the costliest items in the state budget that Macron’s government proposed this week, with 65.5 billion euros ($74 billion) set aside for schools in the next year. That’s more than the proposed 63.4 billion euros for defense.
Students also complain that school days, which often start at 8 a.m., are too exhausting and the university entrance system too complex. Some university students also joined the protests this week.
Government says it’s becoming rioting, not legitimate protests
Macron’s government has repeatedly said that it respects the right to peaceful protest. But it also issued written orders for police to break up protests that block access to schools and to rapidly put a stop to violence and vandalism.
