PARIS - Tens of thousands of people joined rallies across France on Oct 13 to support protesting high school students demanding better conditions in a major challenge to President Emmanuel Macron as his term winds down.
Some 161,500 people turned out in the rallies, according to the interior ministry – more than double the 71,500 estimate it gave for demonstrations on Oct 8.
Although most of the demonstrations were peaceful, violence erupted on the sidelines of one of two Paris marches that the interior ministry said drew 41,500 people.
AFP journalists saw some cars set on fire and police fired tear gas in the Invalides square as masked youths tried to erect barricades across roads and threw objects.
Tear gas was also fired during a demonstration in Lyon.
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg took part in one demonstration in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
She said she had joined the protests because “our future is being robbed”.
French unions said 480,000 people took part in the rallies and the numbers suggested increased street opposition to the government just six months before a vote for a successor to Macron, who is completing his maximum second mandate.
The latest agitation came as the centrist government launched a debate in Parliament on a cost-cutting budget, facing fierce opposition from the left and right, while France’s worsening debt has spooked the bond market.
Pressure will increase as on Oct 17 national demonstrations against the cost of living are to take place, and unions and student groups see the two protest currents merging.
The students have been given strong backing by the far-left opposition France Unbowed (LFI) party whose leader and presidential hopeful Jean-Luc Melenchon was seen among crowds in Paris.
Dialogue, ‘not repression’
Thousands also marched in the cities of Nantes, Lyon, Lens, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Marseille, according to police and AFP reporters.
“We stand in solidarity with the high schools that are worse off. We need real measures and proper dialogue, not repression,” said 16-year-old Emeline, outside a Marseille school.
“We’re here because we really feel we’re not being heard by the government,” said Nina, 17.
The student movement sprang up in September at lycees – high schools for those aged 15 to 18 – with students blocking the entrances to many schools to demand better classroom conditions.
Perceived heavy-handed police action against the students drove many to join Oct 13’s demonstrations.
One teen lost his hand when he picked up a police stun grenade during the protests, while another lost an eye, and another teeth when an officer fired a tear gas canister in his face.
Police have opened internal investigations into 36 allegations of violence against demonstrators, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez who said nearly 900 police had suffered injuries during the protests.
Some 147 teaching staff have been injured, the education ministry said.
‘Not budging’
“We’re not giving up the fight, whether it’s for the high school students who were hit with a harsh crackdown, or for denouncing police violence,” said Patricia, a 20-year-old university student in Paris who did not give her last name.
Some Indian tourists who wandered into the Paris demonstration said they were unnerved.
“Initially we were terrified,” said Snehil Jain, a 45-year-old visiting Paris for a week with his wife.
“We had seen the media images of violence around these protests. But then we saw it was a peaceful protest, so we were OK then.”
France’s education ministry said 214 schools, mostly high schools, were closed on Oct 13.
Pressure will increase as on Oct 17 national demonstrations against the cost of living are to take place, and unions and student groups see the two protest currents merging.
PHOTO: AFP
University student union l’Union Etudiante reported 90% of universities had closed nationwide to show support.
French students say they are determined to press their demands over absent teachers, dilapidated buildings, overcrowded schedules and other grievances.
They have dismissed a government pledge – made after last week’s demonstrations – to send 3,000 substitute teachers to the 114 worst-affected schools.
“We are continuing the blockades. We are not budging,” said Naouel, a high school student in Brest. She said she hoped the protests would continue after the half-term holidays, in late October.
On Oct 12, Macron had urged restraint from protesters, saying the issues “deserve time, consultations, discussion and respect”. AFP