The government says hundreds of schools will fully or partly suspend classes Monday as protests over staffing and school conditions continue across France.
Authorities plan to close or restrict access to as many as 500 high schools on Monday October 5 due to ongoing student demonstrations and security concerns. The protests started at Lycée Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Créteil on September 17 and have since spread nationwide. Students are demanding changes in education policies including teacher shortages, lengthy school days, and deteriorating facilities.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray said that classes might be suspended fully or partially at between 400 and 500 schools where security is deemed inadequate. He noted that the number of affected schools is similar to what was seen on Friday.
The demonstrations have led to serious damage at some schools with 24 high schools either burned or ransacked since the movement began. Some protests turned violent and resulted in confrontations between students and police forces who used tear gas and batons. Geffray accused far-left activists of infiltrating the student movement and escalating violence that has endangered both students and staff.
He reported that 78 education workers have been injured since the protests began and called it an unprecedented number.
More than 5,000 people have been arrested during the protests with about 85% being minors. Critics have questioned police tactics and accused authorities of using excessive force against young demonstrators.
A 16-year-old was arrested in La Ciotat over an assault on a teacher who was reportedly doused with gasoline and struck during a protest. Video footage shared online appeared to show a masked person in black pouring liquid onto the teacher before a tree nearby caught fire.
Student groups plan further demonstrations on Tuesday saying the government has not yet offered concrete solutions to their concerns. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said security forces are not targeting young people but are protecting students wishing to peacefully express their concerns. The government is attempting to balance public safety with the rights of students to protest.
The far-left France Unbowed party has rejected government claims that it orchestrated or hijacked the protest movement.
IMAGE: Portrait officiel d’Édouard Geffray, Ministre de l’Éducation nationale français.. Photo: Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale / Wikimedia, Licence Ouverte