French teenagers are walking out of school as they believe the education system is failing them, students say lack of teachers, long school hours, and poorly maintained infrastructure, closing around 500 schools on Monday.
An unprecedented number of schools being involved has overwhelmed France’s Education Ministry.
The violent crisis has led Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to suspend high school classes across France for the rest of the week.
The nationwide agitation began in late September because of a high school teacher shortage in a Parisian suburb.
Students told Al Jazeera that they often don’t have teachers for subjects like maths and English.
They want their demands to be heard by the government and want to show solidarity with other high school students with less adequate facilities through this.
Police fired tear gas at protesters on Tuesday, as more than 250,000 students, teachers and parents were at the protest.
A teenager lost a hand in a police grenade explosion and another student was injured in the eye during protests.
“190 students had been injured since the protests began, and 24 schools have been burned or ransacked,” Education Minister Édouard Geffray said.
Many of those taking part were minors under 18 and called on authorities to ensure policing methods were proportionate and compatible with France’s human rights obligations, Amnesty International France said.
The left-wing Opposition party La France Insoumise (LFI), led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, strongly support the youth and the movement.
They have also defended the students’ right to protest and their party’s right to be there.
‘LFI has always advocated non-violent demonstrations,’ LFI lawmaker Louis Boyard told BFM TV.
This sense of frustration will not be dealt with through batons; it will be dealt with by showing consideration for these young people, he added.
He also mentioned that the government is adding fuel to the fire by insulting and repressing high school students.
“Burning down a high school does not improve the state of high school buildings,” said PM Lecornu.
But ministers have been ordered to address the demands by the end of October, and an action-oriented response has been promised.
‘That is why time will be set aside starting this week, from Wednesday, to allow each leadership team to organise a session of internal democracy within its high school,’ PM wrote on X.
The education minister has also launched an online portal for sharing suggestions and concerns related to education.
The students are protesting and demanding something very simple, better access to improved school facilities, teachers, and attention to their concerns.
