Schools: protests across France. A secondary school set on fire in Toulouse
Between 500,000 and 700,000 people gathered in the square. A number of individuals set fire to the Françoise de Tournefeuill Institute using fireworks
The Françoise de Tournefeuille secondary school, near Toulouse in south-west France, was set alight on the fringes of the demonstrations in France. A number of individuals are reported to have broken into the school and then set off fireworks from inside using special launchers. Part of the building went up in flames, despite the fire brigade arriving immediately. The vice-president of the Regional Council, Kamel Chibli, condemned these “unacceptable acts” and urged everyone to “condemn them in the strongest possible terms”, calling for “exceptional measures and penalties commensurate with the seriousness of the offences”.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France throughout the day, in response to the strikes called by the trade unions and the student demonstrations that have been ongoing for weeks. The secondary school student movement, which arose from young people’s protests against the appalling conditions in schools, has become intertwined with widespread anger over the rising cost of living and inequality, culminating on 17 October with the worst unrest that France has seen in recent years.
According to the authorities’ estimates, between 500,000 and 700,000 people are protesting across the country, whilst in Paris the turnout is around 80,000 people. Trade unions representing staff in the public and private education sectors, as well as those representing railway workers, staff at public hospitals and postal service workers, have called a strike. In their demands addressed to both the government and employers, the trade unions are calling for a rise in the minimum wage – which has not been increased since 2012 – across-the-board pay rises, tax reforms and better learning conditions for young people. The Home Secretary Laurent Nunez announced yesterday the deployment of 70,000 police officers and members of the security forces across the country, promising ‘an extremely firm response’ to any ‘act of violence’ or disorder.
