High school was set on fire in France, where student protests continue

According to local media reports, a fire broke out at Emile Zola High School near the A8 highway in the city of Aix-en-Provence in the early hours of the morning.

The fire was brought under control with the intervention of 26 firefighters. The school administration announced that the high school will be closed today due to security measures and to facilitate cooling efforts.

At Emile Zola High School, which is among the high schools that have supported the student protests that have been going on in different cities of the country for about 2 months, several school staff were slightly injured due to fireworks during last week's protests.

François de Canson, President of the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur Region, which includes Aix-en-Provence, announced in his post on his social media account that the fire was started deliberately.

Reacting to the fire, Canson said, "We will use our currently limited public resources to compensate for the foolish actions of a few people by cutting short the number of high school students who want to continue their education." he said.

Images appeared on social media in which the corridors and doors of Emile Zola High School were seriously damaged due to fire.

Student protests continue in France

High school students in France have been organizing protests since September 17, demanding improvements in educational conditions, providing more opportunities for their schools and increasing the number of teachers.

The protests, which had diminished during the negotiation process between the government and high school unions and their representatives, were revived on November 4 after the government's commitments to the education sector were found to be insufficient.

Education workers went on strike on November 5, and while approximately one-third of higher education institutions were affected by the strike, education was suspended in dozens of high schools due to the siege action of students.

While the police intervention in the protests, which continued for about 2 months, supported by university students and unions, caused controversy, 8 thousand people were detained.