[Report] Again 68?… High school student protests rocking France

(Paris = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hwang Yun-jeong = "If you didn't want us to rebel, you shouldn't have made us study Rimbaud (Arture Rimbaud, a French poet who symbolizes the spirit of rebellion)", "Oh, Marianne (a symbol of the French Republic), even if I lift a finger, you think I'm too radical"...

On the 13th (local time), students gathered in groups of two and three in the morning around Place d'Italie in Paris, France. Some students held up signs with phrases that satirized reality using figures that symbolize France, such as 'Rimbaud' and 'Marianne.'

Some people brought out black coffin models. The phrase 'Youth' was written on the coffin model, symbolizing that the future of students is dying due to the poor educational environment.

The anger of French high school students who have taken to the streets to demand improvements in the educational environment, including chronic teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and outdated school facilities, has not subsided despite the government's announcement of measures.

Protesters, including students, departed from Plaza Italia this afternoon and marched through downtown Paris. College students, parents, teachers, and labor unions also joined the protest.

Valerie (60), a high school biology teacher, said, "Students have taken to the streets and we must protect them and support them, because what they are demanding is legitimate."

A man in his 50s who came to the protest that day with his high school student daughter (16) said, “Children are just asking for an environment where they can study,” and added, “The only request is that (the school) have a roof, be warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and just be able to study peacefully.”

The protest, which started at a high school in the southeastern suburbs of Paris on the 21st of last month, grew to a scale of 260,000 people (police estimate) participating across France on the 6th of this month.

According to the French government, more than 6,800 people have been arrested so far in connection with the protests. Of these, 86% are minors under the age of 18.

Controversy over excessive police suppression is also increasing the anger of protesters.

Marie-Oud (48), a kindergarten teacher, raised her voice, saying, “The government is suppressing the issue in a very violent way without coming up with a specific solution,” adding, “The opponents are minors.”

A 15-year-old student from Le Loubourg High School in the 13th district of Paris who came out with his friends that day said, “We will not leave (the protest site) because of the tear gas,” and added, “We are here to fight for our rights.”

The student protests that have been going on across France for three weeks are showing signs of spreading beyond education issues into broader social discontent ahead of next year's presidential election.

Analysis suggests that protests by high school students are causing complaints about government policies such as fiscal austerity and the burden of living expenses due to a surge in oil prices. AFP reported that a rally is scheduled to be held on the 17th to protest the rising cost of living.

Marie-Aude, who is also a member of the French Confederation of Labor (CGT) who participated in the protest that day, said, “People are tired of high gas prices and high living expenses.”

Posts calling for collective action similar to the 'yellow vest' protests on the 17th in response to rising oil prices also appeared online. The yellow vest protests, which began as a protest against the 2018 fuel tax increase, spread out of control and pushed the Emmanuel Macron government into a corner.

Regarding the student protests the previous day, President Macron also urged the protesters to exercise restraint, saying, "These are issues that require time, consultation, discussion, and respect."

Analysis suggests that national financial instability is the fundamental reason why Generation Z high school students protested by setting up barricades in front of their schools.

The French government, which is in a state of emergency, has come up with temporary measures such as the emergency deployment of 3,000 substitute teachers, but it is difficult to significantly increase the education budget due to national debt and fiscal deficit. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in a speech to the nation on the 7th that "youth's anger did not arise indiscriminately," and that he would introduce the first measure at the end of this month.

France's public debt is 3.5 trillion euros (about 5,260 trillion won), which is close to 120% of gross domestic product (GDP). The fiscal deficit has exceeded 5% of GDP for three consecutive years. This year it is expected to reach 5.4%.

As the bond market also fluctuated, the interest rate on 10-year French government bonds soared to nearly 5%, the highest level in over 20 years.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg also participated in the protest that day. "Young people are not being included in the discussion, our future is being taken away," Thunberg told AFP, standing with students outside a school in Saint-Denis, outside Paris.

At recent protest sites, placards referencing the so-called '68 Revolution, the student and worker struggle that shook French society to its core in 1968, appeared. What ignited the '68 Revolution at the time was the anger of college students about the absurdity of postwar college education and the poor educational environment.

Baptiste (22), a nursing trainee who held up a sign with the phrase '68' written on it, said, "May 1968 was when a revolution broke out in France by young people," and said he would continue to support student protests in the future.

About seven months before the presidential election, this student protest emerged as a political issue.

The far-left France Unbowed (LFI), which has emphasized support for students, is encouraging participation in the protests.

Marine Le Pen, a member of the far-right National Coalition (RN), the leader in approval ratings among presidential candidates, previously claimed, "This is no longer a protest by high school students. This is a riot organized by experts and directed by LFI members."