France in turmoil after crackdown on students and mass arrests More than 5,000 people have been arrested and at least 190 students have been injured in the protests that have been going on for the past week.
Major nationwide protests began on Tuesday amid extreme unrest in student movements across France demanding increased government investment in the education sector and solutions to various crises.
Students, parents and labor unions are protesting across France, following calls from student organizations.
According to the L’Etudes Etudiants, one of the country’s main and largest left-wing student organizations, protests are taking place in more than 30 locations across France on Tuesday.
People have taken to the streets in cities including Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Lyon and Paris, with around 40,000 people expected to take part in the march.
The Union Syndicale Lycée (USL), the main student organization for high school students in France and one of the organizers of Tuesday’s protests, said the education ministry had now closed or shuttered 1,800 schools.
It added that 90 percent of universities were closed. In a statement on Tuesday, it said public participation in the movement had reached “a new height.” The BBC reported that student organizations called for this all-out movement after more than 5,000 people were arrested and at least 190 students were injured in protests that have been going on for the past week. During the clashes, a 15-year-old student lost his hand in the northern city of Lens.
In addition, another 14-year-old student, Eden, was seriously injured by a tear gas shell in Saint-Ouen-Lomonne last week. Eden suffered a broken jaw and required major surgery.
Children who demand a good learning environment should not be attacked like this,” Eden’s mother said at a press conference on Monday.
To address the situation, French Prime Minister Sebastien Le Corbusier has promised visible changes in schools, assuring students of solutions to their problems. However, at the same time, giving a strong message, the Prime Minister said, “We will not compromise on violence. We stand with the injured students, teachers and affected police members.” However, the main student organization USL rejected the prime minister’s assurance, saying the government had not actually provided any clear solution.
The USL called for an all-out nationwide protest on Tuesday to protest the government’s negligence and the police’s “unprecedented crackdown” on protesters. Supporting their call, France’s headteachers’ association ‘SNES-FSU’ has also urged its members to take to the streets on Tuesday. Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France’s far-left party La France Unsoucié (LFI), described the protests as the country’s “strongest school and university movement” since the historic 1968 uprising.
The protests first began in Paris last September and quickly spread across the country. High school students first took to the streets to protest overcrowding in classrooms, dilapidated buildings, and teacher shortages, but university students later joined them. Image High school and university students take part in a protest and blockade in the French city of Nantes.
The students have blocked hundreds of schools in the heated situation.
According to the Ministry of Education, at least 24 schools have been vandalized and set on fire since the movement began.
According to the French Ministry of Justice, 5,060 people have been arrested since the protests began, 87 percent of whom are minors.
While student organisations have accused the police of using excessive force, Interior Minister Laurent Nunes has claimed that the police are maintaining the situation with great restraint. This student movement has taken a political form in the run-up to the upcoming presidential election.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said, “This is no longer a simple student movement, this is a riot of professionals, which is being incited by the lawmakers of La France Ansumiez.” On the other hand, Marseille Mayor Benoit Payant strongly condemned the violence and called for calm, while left-wing leader Melanchon called on citizens to take to the streets to protect the young people protesting
