Violence in high schools: Édouard Geffray deplores violent actions

“What worries me is not the mobilizations or that high school students may have demands. Because there is a framework for that. What is worrying, however, is that people maintain the idea that democracy should not be respected and that violent actions should be resorted to. What worries me is the violence,” the Minister of National Education, Édouard Geffray, blasted on RTL this Wednesday, while the blockades of several high schools in France were the scene of violence on Tuesday.

The movement of discontent, born from the lack of resources and the “deterioration” of learning conditions, could continue on Thursday after the call from the High School Union (USL). The latter claimed yesterday the blocking of 400 establishments, including around forty “total” blockages, out of the 3,700 in France.

76 injured, including 18 staff

“We are at 76 injured, including 18 personnel. Principals were attacked, teachers were chased by thugs. In these cases, we are far from a calm mobilization, even if in certain places things have gone very well. High school students must be listened to and heard,” added Édouard Geffray. In detail, there were 440 arrests, two thirds of which resulted in police custody, mainly for damage or violence against agents holding public authority, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said last night on BFMTV.

While the blockages receive the support of elected officials, in particular from La France insoumise (LFI), the tenant of rue de Grenelle pointed to a “fairly obvious political recovery”. “Yesterday, the mayor of Saint-Denis explained that the violence could be legitimate. I believe that violence is not legitimate. What is legitimate are the demands,” criticized Édouard Geffray in the direction of Bally Bagayoko.

“Where is the general interest,” he finally asked, while the damage caused is estimated at nearly a million euros in the Île-de-France region alone. On Tuesday, the LR president of the region Valérie Pécresse, in this regard, announced on “The French no longer want to pay taxes to repair what thugs, white-hot by LFI “which judges violence to be legitimate”, have vandalized!” she said angrily.