PARIS – France’s high school students on Oct 12 begin a new stage of their campaign for improved conditions, hoping to maintain the momentum with a fresh wave of demonstrations.
The new protests, scheduled for Oct 13, could be a turning point in the movement, launched in mid-September, which the government hopes is already winding down.
On Oct 9, the government noted a dramatic drop in the number of blockades and meetings outside the country’s lycees, where students – most between 15 and 18 – complete their high school education.
More than 96% were opening on Oct 9, said the education ministry.
The authorities are all the more keen to see the student protests end given that online activists have called for demonstrations on Oct 24 to protest the cost of living.
For President Emmanuel Macron’s administration, that brings back troubling memories of the grassroots Yellow Vest movement.
Their protests, launched in 2018 over a planned fuel tax rise, saw massive demonstrations and clashes between police and protesters that shook the presidency during Macron’s first term in office.
Concessions
The government is still counting the cost of the high school protests.
A government source told journalists last week that the cost for damage caused by the demonstrations was “at least €30 million (S$43 million)”.
On Oct 9, the justice ministry said more than 6,800 people had been detained since the demonstrations started, 86% of them minors.
After clashes between some protesters and riot police left some students severely injured, sparking criticism of police tactics, the government suspended the use of stun grenades that cost one student his hand.
Police are investigating 18 alleged cases of misconduct within their ranks.
Last week, the government came up with concrete proposals to try to address the students’ demands.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray announced late on Oct 8 that some 3,000 substitute teachers would be deployed in the coming days to replace absent staff at the 114 worst-affected high schools.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Oct 11 promised to make changes to the planned budget 2027 to respond to some demands set out in an online platform the government set up to gather students’ views.
‘Crumbs’
The student organisations behind the protests are yet to be convinced, however.
The Union of High School students described the initial announcements last week as “crumbs”. They are maintaining their demand for an extra €10 million to be invested in the country’s lycees.
France’s 10,000 medical students, however, are beginning to express concern at the effect any continued school blockades could have on exams starting on Oct 12 that help determine their eventual speciality.
They do not want to see the students’ action disrupt such a crucial stage of their education.
The Oct 8 student demonstrations mobilised tens of thousands of people across France: 71,500 according to interior ministry figures.
Nearly 256,000 took part in Oct 6’s day of action.
And one poll, carried out by Ipsos-BVA and published on Oct 11, said 54% of respondents backed the high school student protests.
They had the most sympathy with student complaints about the excessive size of classes and with the need to renovate the country’s crumbling schools. AFP