France Closes Up to 500 High Schools as Student Protests Spread
Several hundred French schools were fully or partly closed on Monday amid security concerns linked to nationwide student protests. Education Minister Edouard…
French authorities closed hundreds of schools as student protests spread nationwide, with officials citing security concerns and warning that further demonstrations were planned. The closures leave lessons disrupted while pupils protest conditions in schools, including dilapidated facilities and teacher absences.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray said lessons would be totally or partly suspended at about 400 to 500 high schools on Monday. A short-term precaution. He said security conditions had not been fulfilled, while a partial, progressive return to lessons was planned.
The demonstrations began at one Paris school on September 17 and expanded across France last week, at times turning violent. Organizers called for protests to continue on Tuesday, saying the government had not proposed concrete measures to address students’ complaints.
School closures follow injuries and damage
Geffray said 24 schools had been burned or ransacked and 78 education staff members had been injured since the protests began. Valerie Pecresse, president of the Ile-de-France region around the capital, said more than a third of the region’s 468 schools would be shut on Monday.
A 15-year-old boy suffered a severe hand injury during a protest in the northern town of Lens on Monday. AFP, citing a police union source, reported that he appeared to have picked up a sting ball grenade, a type of tear gas grenade, which exploded in his hand.
Police have used tear gas and batons to disperse protesters in several incidents. More than 5,000 people, 85% of them minors, have been arrested since the movement began, according to the report.
On Sunday, authorities detained a 16-year-old after a 59-year-old teacher was hit and doused with gasoline during a protest in the southern town of La Ciotat. Last week, footage showed young people beating and kicking a police officer on the ground in Belfort, in eastern France.
Amnesty International’s French branch described police action as “disproportionate.” Interior Minister Laurent Nunez defended security forces, saying they were “not cracking down on young people” but “protecting” students who wanted to “peacefully voice their demands.”
Students cite poor conditions
Protesting teenagers at French upper secondary schools, known as lycees, have complained about high teacher absenteeism, school days they say are too long and buildings in poor condition. They have also called attention to inadequate cooling during hot summer days.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu urged local authorities on Sunday to prioritize filling gaps caused by long-term absences and unfilled posts. He also called a meeting for Tuesday with regional presidents to discuss renovating school buildings.
The closures affect teaching and leave families and students facing uncertainty over when lessons can resume. The education minister said the shutdowns were mainly a precaution, while officials weighed school safety against plans for a gradual return to classes.
Geffray said the number of schools closed on Monday would be similar to Friday’s, even as authorities planned a partial return to lessons. Organizers, however, called for protests to continue on Tuesday.
Source: straitstimes.com
