Dozens of high schools across France were blockaded again on Monday, reopening a tense week of protests over school conditions, staffing shortages and the rising cost of living. The demonstrations resumed as pupils returned from a two-week holiday, despite President Emmanuel Macron’s call to end the blockades, which have continued since September.
Students in Paris and its suburbs, as well as in Lille, Toulouse and Marseille, barricaded school entrances with wheeled bins. Their demands include more replacement teachers, better access to higher education and repairs to deteriorating school buildings. Police removed barriers outside some schools and made arrests.
University students’ unions planned further blockades at faculties on Tuesday. Trade unions have also called a nationwide strike for Thursday, with rail workers, teachers and private-sector employees expected to join demonstrations in support of the pupils’ demands and against low salaries and the cost of living.
Nathanaël Combary, of the school students’ union Renouveau Lycéen, said pupils would continue their “battle of strength” with the government. He described measures announced last week, including limits on some class sizes and a review of the university applications platform, as insufficient.
The education minister, Édouard Geffray, warned that the disruption was putting the school year at risk for many students preparing for their final exams. He said hundreds of thousands of pupils had missed four or five weeks of classes, including the holiday period, and might be unable to complete coursework or catch up with the curriculum. Geffray described the blockades as illegal and said his priority was to get pupils back into classrooms.
The education ministry said 41 high schools were blocked nationwide, representing about 1% of all high schools. Student unions estimated the number at 150. Nicolas Bonnet, from the headteachers’ union SNPDEN-UNSA, said coursework, final-year exams and university applications were at risk, while calling for greater dialogue between the government and pupils.
The protests have also prompted controversy over police handling of demonstrations. In Montpellier, Socialist senator Hussein Bourgi accused the government of misconduct after footage showed a 53-year-old school nurse being restrained and taken into custody near a barricade. The local prefect said she had insulted officers and resisted arrest.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he would meet student representatives again next week.
Sources: The Guardian Education.