Protests in France over poor school conditions, limited resources and staff shortages have been getting worse over the past number of days with roughly 5,000 arrests made.
The protests are ongoing with thousands of high school and university students gathering in cities across France to protest. Over 500 schools are closed due to the protests.
Parents, teachers and workers have joined the students with over 71,000 people protesting across the country.
Riot police have been deployed in Paris as the demonstrations have turned violent. Bins and police barriers have been set alight, and the entrance hall of a school caught fire during the week.
A 15-year-old student had his hand blown off by a stun grenade, thrown by police earlier in the week. Police have since suspended the use of these but are still using tear gas and water cannons to disperse violent crowds.
“The president recalled the necessity to maintain order, intervene each time there’s serious violence, all while asking us to act with the greatest proportionality,” said Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.
The protests began in September and have spread nationwide. Other countries like Belgium have also followed with their own demonstrations.
French students have reported overcrowding in classroom, made more difficult due to the heatwaves this summer. They also noted poor toilet facilities with some school unable to accommodate all students.
Overall students feel that Frances’s education system has gone underfunded for years and inequalities between schools from poorer and richer areas are significant.
Students have come up with a list of 10 emergency demands they want the government to meet. These include; an emergency plan to renovate schools and universities, a mass hiring of teachers, support and guidance staff, and a redesign of the high school democracy system to allow students to truly have a say and participate in decision-making.
“The protests started with students complaining about the education system, which is failing in many ways, mostly because of a lack of resources from the state,” said 21-year-old French student Justine Jacques, who studies at the University of Bordeaux.
“The education system lacks teachers, leading to overcrowding in classrooms. Some classrooms will have 35-40 students. The infrastructure is also in very bad condition, which makes it difficult to go to school, particularly during the heatwaves we have been having.
“There are also major issues with the timetables in most schools. Many schools go from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday. There is no free or personal time, school takes up so many hours,” said Jacques.
“Since the protests have been going on other issues have risen. Many students have been faced with violence committed by police officers. The list of terrible incidents happening at these protests is getting longer and longer.
“For now, I don’t think the protests are effective. Although the government did speak up on some of the issues brought up by students. Nothing was concretely said or done to fix the issues or come to an agreement with protestors.
“Unfortunately, I cannot think of a possible outcome. I think people will keep protesting until something is done to improve the situation. There is another big demonstration happening on 17 October where students, workers and people from all backgrounds will gather, so hopefully that will push for an outcome,” said Jacques.
With more people joining together to protest, there does not seem to be an end close in sight.
By Hayley Mulligan
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