France detained 1,949 people on October 1 amid protests by high school students. Actions demanding better learning conditions in several cities were accompanied by arson, damage to buildings and clashes with police. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The protests began about a week ago and spread across the country. Protests and blockades of educational institutions were recorded in Paris, Nantes, Marseille, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Rennes and Caen, as well as in the Paris suburbs of Saint-Denis and Aubervilliers. High school students are demanding additional funding for education, replacement of absent teachers and repairs to school buildings. They also complain about overloaded schedules. Students joined the actions.
Participants blocked entrances to lycees. In a number of cities, garbage containers were set on fire near educational institutions, bus stops were smashed and objects were thrown at security forces. Police used tear gas. People committing acts of violence and damaging property joined the protesting school students.
In Nantes, a fire damaged the entrance, roof and several classrooms of the Nelson Mandela lycee. Students and staff were evacuated. Attacks on heads of educational institutions in several regions were also reported.
According to authorities, about 900 actions near lycees were registered during the day. The Interior Ministry reported almost two thousand detainees. Sources do not specify how many of them were school students.
Amid the situation, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu convened an interdepartmental crisis meeting and asked ministers to cancel trips in the coming days so that prefectures could focus on the situation.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray instructed that classes be moved to a distance format where damage or blockades prevent the safe admission of students. His meeting with representatives of trade unions, school students and parents is scheduled for October 2.