Student protests and public sector strikes are escalating in France

It's an explosive mixture: on the very day that the public service had announced demonstrations across the country, student protests peaked again. They are aimed at canceling classes, too few teachers and psychosocial services, and poor equipment.

One student says: "We don't block school for fun. We want to learn, get our Abitur, we want to go to university, but that's not possible under these conditions." One student explains: "We have more than 35 students per class, the school building is not well insulated. We felt bad during the heat in the summer; it felt like it was over 40 degrees in the classrooms."

The protest movement has been growing at the lycées and high schools for a few days. Barricades in front of the entrances, there were numerous clashes with the police. Some masked people - often young people who are not enrolled at the lycées, it is assumed - shot fireworks at police officers.

Teachers demonstrate with us

But in many places, teachers show solidarity with the students. Like this teacher at the Lycée Paul Eluard in Saint Denis, the poor north of Paris:

Mélenchon accuses police of racism

On the instructions of the Interior Minister, the security forces are taking tough action against the students. A student was seriously injured in the face by a tear gas grenade. This strictness is denounced not only by the teachers, but also by the presidential candidate of the radical left-wing LFI, Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

He even accused the police of racism against young people from the banlieues. The suburbs are characterized by immigration. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu then publicly criticized him. The accusation: LFI is fomenting the protests or even starting them in order to win votes in the election campaign before the 2027 presidential elections.

Mélenchon responded at the large public service demonstration. He is proud that LFI is present at the school gates to defend the kids. Parents and LFI supporters should oppose “police brutality”. In this tense situation, parts of the student body decided to join the large public service demonstration.

“We can no longer provide help like this”

In Paris, Marseille, Lille and many other cities in the republic, officials took to the streets to demonstrate for higher salaries. The public service is being destroyed. The firefighters also protested. For example, Xavier Roy, a professional firefighter and union spokesman, who was spontaneously received with his delegation by the Minister of the Interior.

"We told him how angry we are. We always push ourselves to the limit, sometimes even risking our lives. But we're at the end," said Roy. There were almost 8,000 firefighters at the demonstration. "It's not about the salary. It's about denouncing the catastrophic state of civil defense. We can no longer provide help like this."

But better equipment, higher salaries and better working conditions are expensive. And France's national deficit is almost 119 percent of gross domestic product. That's why Prime Minister Lecornu will present an austerity budget this week. Not a good prerequisite for calming the explosive mood in the country.