French students staged a fresh round of nationwide protests on Tuesday, with around 200 schools closed as teachers’ unions joined calls for increased education funding and better study conditions.
Marches began in Lyon and Nantes, while students blockaded schools in Paris, Rennes and Strasbourg during the fifth round of mobilisation, French newspaper Le Parisien reported.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray told France Inter that “around 200 establishments are closed”, describing the figure as lower than the previous week.
He said a consultation platform for high school students had received 86,000 contributions, while nearly 1,000 contract teachers were being recruited to strengthen staff replacement capacity.
In Paris, students, parents and teachers gathered near Helene-Boucher High School, while protesters partially blocked the Turgot and Montaigne high schools. A march was scheduled to leave Place d’Italie at 2 pm local time (1200 GMT) and head towards Les Invalides.
Paris-Pantheon-Assas University moved classes online after blockades affected its Assas and Vaugirard campuses. A police source confirmed a confrontation between two groups outside Assas earlier in the morning, with students reporting that one classmate had been injured.
Unions and activists join protests
Teachers’ unions FSU-SNUIPP and SNES-FSU called on members to join the mobilisation, citing shared demands over public education, working conditions and pay.
The protesters are demanding increased education spending and opposing the Parcoursup university admissions platform. President Emmanuel Macron urged demonstrators to remain calm and respect people and property.
More than 6,800 people, overwhelmingly minors, have been detained since the movement began, according to Le Parisien. France’s national police watchdog, IGPN, has opened 24 investigations into suspected police violence.
