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Detentions rose to 440 in Tuesday's demonstrations

France's high school protests continued on Tuesday with heavy-handed policing and a large number of detentions across the country. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 440 people, most of them minors, were detained and that about two-thirds of them were placed in police custody.

According to the French Education Ministry, at least 400 schools were affected by the demonstrations. Official statements said at least 10 teachers, some students and 48 law enforcement officers were injured. Images in the press showed some trash bins set on fire and bus shelters damaged.

Why did students take to the streets?

The movement began last week in the Île-de-France region around Paris, and students have been blocking the entrances of some high schools for days. The protests are centered on complaints about education conditions.

  • Crowded classrooms and rising density in school rooms
  • Teacher shortages and the workload on existing staff

A 16-year-old student speaking to AFP said, “The education system is completely broken,” voicing frustration.

Students say it has become difficult to hold classes under current conditions and that teachers are also under extreme pressure. What began in Paris quickly spread to high schools in other parts of the country.

Government condemns violence as police response draws scrutiny

French Education Minister Édouard Geffray said students have the right to protest, but that reports of violence were “unacceptable.” In a social media post, Geffray said the right to demonstrate cannot justify such actions and that calls to extend school blockades put students and public workers in danger.

Meanwhile, Ryad Rani, president of the student representative group Union Syndicale Lycéenne, accused the government of acting repressively and the police of using excessive force. Nuñez, however, said the police response was carried out in a “highly proportionate” manner.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had said on Monday, after 164 people were detained, that an escalation of the protests would be “irresponsible.” Tuesday's student demonstrations took place on the same day as nationwide strikes organized by unions representing teachers, hospital workers and civil servants over low pay and working conditions; Nuñez said the rallies, attended by at least 200,000 people, passed largely without incident.

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