French Prime Minister Calls Emergency Meeting Amid Student Protests

PARIS — French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called an emergency meeting on Thursday to address the fast-growing number of student protests across the country.

The movement, which was borne of anger over conditions in secondary schools, began in recent days with teenagers blocking entrances to educational institutions in underprivileged suburbs of Paris.

The Union Syndicale Lycéenne, the student union spearheading the demonstrations, said they want authorities to address a “shortage of teachers and staff, dilapidated high schools, overcrowded classrooms, and overloaded schedules.”

While the protests have been largely peaceful, some have seen trash cans set on fire outside school entrances and buildings vandalized.

The head of the greater Paris region, Valérie Pécresse, said Thursday that more than 200 schools were affected and the damage had exceeded €1 million, Le Monde reported. Protesters and their supporters have accused the police of using excessive force to disperse gatherings.

The protests have also sparked political finger-pointing.

The far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his France Unbowed party have attended demonstrations in their constituencies, saying they were there to show support and protect minors from confrontations with police.

Marine Le Pen, the far-right front-runner in next year’s presidential election in France, said on X that Mélenchon “bears a heavy responsibility for the situation our country is facing today.”

Mélenchon responded by saying his party was protecting “young people from violence perpetrated by Ms. Le Pen’s allies in the police force.”