Protests by students demanding better education conditions continue in France

Students demanding the improvement of educational conditions gathered in front of high schools and universities in many cities of the country, including Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Saint-Nazaire and Lyon, as well as the capital Paris.

According to the statement made on the social media account of the US-based company

In the city of Aix-en-Provence, close to Marseille, students will continue their protests all week at Sciences Po Aix, one of the important higher education schools.

In the same city, students also participated in the protests by blocking the entrance of the National Institute of Higher Education and Teaching (INSPE).

According to news in the national press, approximately 400 high school students protesting in the city of Saint-Nazaire gathered in front of Aristide-Briand High School.

While students set up barricades in front of all entrances of the high school, garbage bins were set on fire in front of the school.

According to the statement made by the Rhone Governorate, 17 schools in the Rhone province were affected by the protests.

Within the scope of the protests, 9 people were detained on the grounds that they burned garbage bins, threw fireworks or participated in the demonstration with their faces covered.

Tension increased between protesters and police in front of the Louis-Armand High School in the Rhone province in the morning.

While garbage bins were set on fire in front of the school, fireworks and molotov cocktails were thrown at law enforcement officers. The number of police officers assigned to the neighborhood where the high school is located has been increased.

University students gathered in front of Lyon 3 University in the city of Lyon and barricaded themselves with garbage bins and construction materials to prevent the entrance of the school.

Garbage bins were set on fire in front of La Ruche High School in the city of Bordeaux. The fire spread to the facade and ground floor of the school.

148 high school staff were injured in the protests

French Education Minister Edouard Geffray, in his statement in a joint broadcast of the French BFMTV channel and RMC media, stated that 148 staff working in high schools were injured since the beginning of the protests.

Geffray argued that some staff were deliberately targeted by throwing fireworks and different objects, and stated that many students wanted to continue classes despite the protests.

Announcing that improvements will be made on the Parcoursup platform, where license applications are made, by the end of this month, Geffray stated that 96 percent of high schools will be open today.

Geffray noted that approximately 200 high schools were closed for different reasons, including protests.

Young people have legitimate concerns, says Macron

According to French Government Spokesperson Maud Bregeon's statement to the press after the Council of Ministers meeting in Paris, President Emmanuel Macron stated that young people had legitimate concerns at the meeting.

Macron argued that these concerns of young people were used for politics and turned into social violence, and stated that the violent incidents that occurred within the scope of the protests were "unacceptable scenes".

The French President has instructed the government to prepare concrete responses on the issue of high schools and submit them in the coming weeks.

More than 1,000 people have been injured in the protests organized by high school students in France since September 17 for better education conditions.

Within the scope of the actions, more than 6 thousand 800 people were detained.