School protests that began in the suburbs of Paris have spread to other cities across France within a week. Students, teachers and parents are taking part in the action, complaining about overcrowded classes, a shortage of teachers and the poor condition of school buildings. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
According to Reuters, students from more than 1,200 French schools took part in the action. In some cases, the protests were accompanied by blockades, and police used tear gas and rubber bullets.
According to Reuters, more than 5,000 people were detained. Some participants suffered serious injuries, including eye damage, knocked-out teeth and blows to the head.
One of the centers of the protests was the Seine-Saint-Denis department north of Paris. At the Le Corbusier lyceum in Aubervilliers, classes in mathematics, humanities, English and physical education have been cancelled since the start of the school year due to a shortage of teachers.
Representatives of parents and teachers also speak of overcrowded classes and the absence of nurses and social workers. According to the CGT trade union, two-thirds of schools in Seine-Saint-Denis took part in the protests, and in two-thirds of the department's schools teaching vacancies remain unfilled.
Against the backdrop of the protests, the French government plans to increase the education budget by 1.7% – to €65.53 billion, excluding pension costs for teachers. However, the increase turned out to be below inflation.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray said that education remains a priority, and the limited budget growth is linked to a decline in population.
At the same time, according to the French Ministry of Education, average spending per secondary school student has barely changed in recent years: €11,660 in 2024 versus €11,910 in 2010.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that Spain was gripped by mass unrest over the housing crisis.