France deploys 3,000 substitute teachers to appease student protests

AFP reported on the 9th (local time) that the French government has decided to urgently deploy 3,000 teachers to appease the growing student protests.

French Education Minister Edouard Jeffre said the day before that he plans to send about 3,000 substitute teachers to 114 high schools lacking teachers within the next few days.

Minister Jeffre also said that if teachers want to work overtime to fill vacancies, they will provide more funding as much as the existing system allows.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on the 7th that he would review tasks to accommodate the demands of student protesters, such as ▲ replacing vacant teachers ▲ improving school facilities ▲ adjusting school schedules ▲ improving Parcoursup (university admission support platform) ▲ providing a venue for students to express their opinions.

French students are protesting across the country demanding improvements to the educational environment, including chronic teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and outdated infrastructure.

The protest, which started at a high school in the southeastern suburbs of Paris on the 21st of last month, grew to a maximum of 260,000 people per day (police estimate) this month. The French government said that 6,877 people have been arrested so far in connection with the protests, of which 86% are minors under the age of 18.

The Ministry of the Interior calculated that 75,100 people participated in the previous day's protest. On this day, 141 high schools were closed due to protests, a significant decrease from about 800 on the 2nd.

However, students have announced another large-scale protest on the 13th, saying that the government's measures are not sufficient. Marius Mesnil of the high school union urged participation in the protest, saying, "They are only throwing us crumbs" regarding the measures put forward by the Ministry of Education.