Protests in France, from Paris to Nantes new student demonstrations

"Act IV" of coordinated mobilizations at a national level is taking place. Lessons are "totally or partially suspended" in 375 schools out of 3,700 in the country, according to estimates from the Ministry of Education. Lecornu assured: "No orders to the police to clash with young people." L'Union étudiante calls a new demonstration for October 13th

Student protests continue in France: today "act IV" of coordinated mobilizations at a national level takes place. Many cities were involved, from Paris to Marseille and Lyon and from Nantes to Lille. Meanwhile, lessons are "totally or partially suspended" in 375 schools out of 3,700 in the country, according to provisional estimates from the Ministry of Education. As promised last week, the Minister of National Education, Édouard Geffray, summoned the three high school student associations to the ministry. However, the Union étudiante, one of the main French student organizations, has already called a new demonstration for October 13th from the Parisian meeting place of Place de la Bastille. "Until 10 billion euros are put on the table we will not stop taking to the streets," reiterated spokeswoman Sabrine Kharbach.

Clashes in Nantes

On the île de Nantes, writes Le Figaro, the situation has become tense with young demonstrators facing the police and the consequent launch of tear gas by the police. A pattern that has been repeating itself since mid-September, despite repeated appeals for calm and moderation.

Yesterday the French Prime Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, explained that "the anger of the young people" involved in the student demonstrations "does not arise out of nowhere". "No one can remain indifferent to the anxieties they express", he added, assuring that the police "have no instructions to clash with the students". And an investigation was opened after the spread on social media of a video showing a Police Nationale off-road vehicle hurtling at high speed towards protesters in Dunkirk. Not only that. Lecornu also announced that "the government's first decisions will be presented at the end of October", but that "the dialogue spaces started" in schools will continue "in every high school, until next week".

How the protests began

The protests began in September, from a school in Créteil, in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris, where students had joined their teachers to demand more resources and staff. The campaign then went viral and prompted students across France to join the call for government intervention against problems such as overcrowded classes, teacher absences and obsolete facilities.