France: further student protests today, with trade unions also taking to the streets
In Paris, the meeting point for the march is at 2 pm at Place de la République. Numerous demonstrations are also planned outside secondary schools. The Minister for Education, Edouard Géffray, warns troublemakers: “Illegal violence is violence that must be punished.”
Student protests continue in France, with the so-called ‘third act’ of the secondary school protests (a reference to the terminology used by the ‘yellow vests’ movement in 2018 to mark the weekly protests), a new day of national mobilisation called for today by student organisations, which is also being supported today by several French trade unions in the education sector. Among these is the Confédération générale du travail (CGT), led by Sophie Binet, which is taking to the streets to ‘protect’ students from police ‘repression’. A coalition of national education trade unions has called for participation in the movement. Elected representatives will also be involved. As well as in Paris, demonstrations will also take place in Perpignan, Tours, Toulouse, Brest, Nancy, Rennes, Marseille, Montpellier, Besançon and Lille.
Up to 40,000 people are expected in the capital for a protest march involving students from French secondary schools and universities. The meeting point is at 2 pm at Place de la République. Numerous demonstrations are also planned outside secondary schools. The marches will end at Place de la Nation.
Education Minister: ‘Acts of violence will be punished’
In an interview with Franceinfo, the Minister for Education, Edouard Géffray, warned the troublemakers: “Illegal violence is violence that must be punished.” “There is extreme violence within these movements,” he lamented, responding to those who asked whether the police response was proportionate: “From the outset,” he added, “I have called for dialogue and urged people not to encourage blockades.” Géffray went on to report that, from “the very first days, ultra-violent elements had infiltrated the student movements, targeting the police and engaging in unspeakable behaviour”. He then specified that 715 members of the police force had been injured since the protests began in mid-September.
The Prime Minister’s Office calls for “peaceful” demonstrations and “lawful” protests
The demonstrations over the past few days have been marked by clashes with the police, arrests and injuries, including a 15-year-old student who lost a hand after picking up a police grenade. According to the Ministry of Education and a students’ union, teaching has been disrupted in 589 of the country’s 3,700 secondary schools and in 32 universities. The office of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has called for “peaceful” demonstrations, urging a return to “a form of structured, legal and democratic opposition”.
