Fires break out at French schools as students protest nationwide
Several schools across France have been hit by fires as students step up protests by blocking access to educational institutions over concerns about school funding and deteriorating learning conditions.
Two high schools in Nantes, western France, were affected by fires, while footage also showed flames engulfing the entrance of a school in Rouen in the north.
The demonstrations are being driven by complaints over teacher and staff shortages, overcrowded classrooms and poorly maintained school buildings. University students joined the protests on Thursday, raising similar concerns.
France’s Interior Ministry said 1,949 people were arrested on Thursday, while 305 police officers sustained injuries. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu also convened a crisis meeting to address the escalating unrest.
Following the meeting, the government said the student demonstrations had deteriorated into what it described as “urban violence.”
In Nantes, both fires began after rubbish bins were set alight. At Nelson Mandela High School in the city centre, the flames spread to the building and damaged its entrance hall.
In Marseille, staff members at Victor Hugo High School were reportedly splashed with petrol as protesters filled containers with the fuel.
Meanwhile, the headteacher of Degrugillier High School in Auchel was injured in the ear after being struck by a stray firework.
The protests and blockades at French lycées, which cater mainly to students aged 15 to 18 and are broadly comparable to sixth-form colleges in the UK or high schools in the US, started last week before spreading to hundreds of schools nationwide.
According to the Interior Ministry, demonstrations have affected 1,027 lycées, with 222 schools experiencing blockades.
At least 30 universities have also reportedly been blockaded, including campuses in Rennes and Paris.
Public transport services in Marseille and Strasbourg were suspended on Thursday because of vandalism, threats of violence and concerns that protesters could use the networks to move around.
Seventeen-year-old Raphael, who participated in protests outside a school in Strasbourg where barriers were placed across nearby tram tracks, said students were frustrated by the poor state of their facilities.
Speaking to AFP, he said some classrooms had leaking roofs and that the school lacked sufficient toilets.
“The building is falling apart, the cafeteria is too small. There’s zero budget, zero resources, not enough supervisors,” he said.
Although France’s next general election is still months away, the protests and the government’s response have become increasingly politicised.
The government and hard-right political figures have accused the far left of fuelling the unrest. The demonstrations are being organised by a union representing lycée students.
Bally Bagayoko, mayor of a Paris suburb and a member of the radical-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party, defended previous comments in which he said violence could be justified in certain circumstances. He was referring to incidents in which protesters were allegedly shot at despite not wearing helmets or bulletproof vests.
LFI leader and presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon said he supported peaceful demonstrations, while arguing that blaming the political left would not address the underlying concerns behind the protests.
Earlier, National Rally leader Marine Le Pen said the situation had moved beyond ordinary high school protests, accusing professionals and LFI lawmakers of organising the unrest. She called for the introduction of a new anti-rioting law.
Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan condemned what he described as “unacceptable violence” in the city. He acknowledged that young people had legitimate concerns about their future and public services but urged them to express those concerns peacefully.
Eric Ciotti, the Republican mayor of Nice, meanwhile called for parents of students found responsible for damaging school property to cover the cost of repairs.
Source: BBC
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