Since the start of the week, high school students from several departments of Ile-de-France have been organizing blockades in their establishments to denounce their schooling conditions. Material damage, mortar fire...their movement led to police interventions dividing the political class.
The movement continues. Again this morning, mortar fire rang out at the Bartholdi high school in Saint-Denis, according to our information. High school students also mobilized at the Paul-Eluard high school to also demand better schooling conditions. The two establishments in this town, like around ten other high schools in Ile-de-France, have had multiple blockages since the start of the week, leading to police intervention on several occasions.
In several videos circulating on social networks, many students denounce these interventions, speaking of "violent police repression" in the face of their mobilizations. The town's LFI mayor, Bally Bagayoko, reacted on his X account. "I followed the mobilization at Bartholdi high school with attention," he wrote.
This movement led to deterioration in establishments in the Ile-de-France region, as can be seen below at the Frédéric-Bartholdi high school in Saint-Denis.
In the neighboring town, Saint-Ouen, an establishment had to close this Thursday. “There was a blockade of the Auguste-Blanqui high school in Saint-Ouen this (Thursday) morning, with a crowd, movements, material damage but no injuries,” a spokesperson for the rectorate explained to AFP, specifying that the establishment remained closed for the afternoon at the request of the police.
The demands of high school students
The high school students intend in particular to protest against their schooling conditions, overcrowded classes or even their timetable. "We're a bit of a poor high school... (Our timetable), it's 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, there are 34 students in the class, sometimes we don't even have a free chair or table," assured Abdelaziz, 14, in second grade at Saint-Ouen. The demands are “very diverse depending on the establishment” according to the Créteil rectorate.
The blockades are mainly organized in high schools in the Paris suburbs. Stains in Seine-Saint-Denis, Sarcelles and Gonesse in Val-d'Oise, and even Créteil in Val-de-Marne have seen blockages in recent days, garnering the support of some teachers. From a police source, several incidents have also been recorded in Versailles, with “blockade attempts” or “burning trash cans”. In total, 21 people were arrested this Friday, September 25 on the sidelines of the mobilizations in high schools.
The political class divided
This movement also led to the intervention of the BRS (Regional Security Brigades). Created by the region, their mission is to support, protect and secure establishments that request it. Since the beginning of September, "the regional security brigades have intervened 120 times", compared to 71 interventions over the same period last year, indicated Valérie Pécresse, president of the Ile-de-France region, specifying that they had "systematically filed a complaint against the damage".
Regarding the blockades, the president of the region added that there would be "zero tolerance for the bosses and thugs who prevent our high school students from studying and succeeding." According to her, the blockages contribute to “the assumed spread of a culture of impunity and violence”. Statements to which the LFI deputy for Val-de-Marne, Louis Boyard, who supports the high school mobilizations, responded. “Violence is hitting teenagers who demand equality with batons, tear gas and LBD. But that doesn’t count for her.”
According to the Créteil academy interviewed by AFP, the movement "is gaining momentum". For the moment, around ten establishments in the Paris metropolitan area remain mobilized, out of the 468 public high schools in Ile-de-France.
