French students and police clash as school blockades turn violent
More than 200 arrested while teachers join protest over class sizes, exhausting timetables and staff shortages
Spots 
French teenagers blockading their schools in protest at
French teenagers blockading their schools in protest at class sizes, teacher shortages and long timetables have clashed with police, as politicians traded verbal blows over how to respond.
Demonstrations that began in Paris last week have
Demonstrations that began in Paris last week have escalated and spread across France, with the authorities reporting the arrests of 164 people on Monday.
On Tuesday, high school pupils in Lille, northern
On Tuesday, high school pupils in Lille, northern France, set fire to dustbins and threw bottles, paving stones and other projectiles at police, who responded with teargas after protesters vandalised bus shelters and advertising hoardings.
There were confrontations between children and police in
There were confrontations between children and police in Bordeaux, Rennes and Nantes in western France, and Marseille in the south. At the Lamartine lycée, in the north of Paris, students waved placards complaining they had exhausting timetables. One read: “8am-6pm. More hours of lessons than sleep.”
On Monday, the interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said
On Monday, the interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said protests had broken out at 180 schools, and 12 officers, 12 students and three school staff had been injured.
By midday on Tuesday, the education ministry was
By midday on Tuesday, the education ministry was reporting protests at 300 high schools, a further 40 arrests and that 10 students and staff had been injured.
The prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, said earlier that
The prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, said earlier that escalating the demonstrations would be “irresponsible”. He posted on X: “Fireworks, fires, violence near high schools: nothing justifies endangering students staff or police.”
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the hard-left France Unbowed
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), responded to ministers’ instructions to police, posting on X on Monday: “The high school students protesting are harmless. The Lecornu government has ordered a crackdown. This brutality is irresponsible and has a clear racist undertone. Hands off our youth. Elected officials and France Unbowed activists, step in wherever you can.”
Lecornu, responding on X, called Mélenchon’s intervention an
Lecornu, responding on X, called Mélenchon’s intervention an “irresponsible escalation”. “The duty of an elected official of the republic is to protect young people and call for calm. Exploiting their anger for partisan purposes is wrong,” he wrote. He added that Mélenchon’s accusation of racism was “an insult”.
News
French students and police clash as school blockades turn violent
More than 200 arrested while teachers join protest over class sizes, exhausting timetables and staff shortages
@spots #politics
Source: Guardian World