French schools shut as unrest spreads across country

Hundreds of secondary schools across France were fully or partially closed on Monday as a nationwide series of protests involving students, which have often degenerated into violence, continues.

The protests began two weeks ago, at a school in the Paris suburb of Creteil, with students expressing solidarity with teachers who are on strike over a lack of resources and staff, and the movement soon began to grow in geographical spread and in the issues it relates to.

Pupils are now also complaining about teacher shortages, unsafe school buildings, and a nationwide ban on mobile phones in schools, which was introduced at the beginning of September.

Speaking over the weekend, French Education Minister Edouard Geffray said there were "between 400 and 500 suspended classes" on Friday, and "there will probably be just as many on Monday, but with a gradual, partial resumption of classes".

As the demonstrations have grown, so has their intensity, with bins being set alight, school buildings damaged and projectiles thrown at police, and the Ministry of Education reports that so far 78 school staff members have been injured, something Geffray said "we have never seen before".

"There are activists — particularly from the far-left — who have infiltrated the high school student movement, hijacked it from the students themselves, and engaged in extreme violence," he added. "Clearly, this poses a risk to both our staff and our students."

Despite this, the Euronews website reported that as of Sunday, all the country's teaching unions said they would be joining the pupils in their latest protests.

"Their demands are legitimate, and we support them all the more because they are at the heart of our own mobilizations denouncing the lack of resources for several years now," the unions said in a press release.

According to France's Interior Ministry, there have been nearly 5,000 arrests related to the unrest since it began, with tear gas and rubber bullets being used to control and disperse crowds, but Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has rejected suggestions that the reaction of the security forces has been "disproportionate".

"The police do not repress young people," he said, adding that they "protect" pupils who want to "advance their demands peacefully", but with more protests planned for Tuesday, he warned that they will intervene "firmly and without delay" to put an end to "damage, violence (and) abuses" taking place.

France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has said the government will take further steps to "address the difficulties faced by high school students and educational staff", as well as reform the country's university entrance program to make it clearer, but he has also warned those involved in the disturbances that legislation which will require people responsible for damage to bear a financial cost is being brought forward.

julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com