French Students Protest Amid Security Crackdown

Tens of thousands of secondary school students across France are preparing to demonstrate on Tuesday, marking a new day of mobilization in an atmosphere charged with tension. The protest movement, which began in mid-September, has been punctuated by violent clashes between demonstrators and police forces.

Security Measures Intensify

In the capital, Paris, authorities have deployed approximately 2,000 police officers and gendarmes to secure the afternoon march. This heavy presence follows incidents where school blockades and student gatherings escalated into vandalism and confrontations with security personnel. Since 7:00 AM, students in Paris have blocked their schools; some stood atop trash containers while others held signs reading "Too young to be heard, old enough to be tear-gassed" and "Suffocating system."

Parents and teachers have decided to attend the demonstrations to help maintain order and prevent situations from spiraling out of control. Romain Dubourg, a teacher at Chateaubriand Secondary School in Rennes, told AFP that he and about thirty colleagues discussed recent police violence and resolved to support their students if necessary.

Student Demands and Union Support

The students demand increased resources for their schools. Their cause has received backing from labor unions, which called on education sector workers to join the streets in solidarity, both in Paris and in roughly thirty other cities. Protesters cite poor building conditions, overcrowded classrooms, and the absence of substitute teachers, particularly in working-class neighborhoods.

Government sources stated that the "vast majority" of injuries recorded since the movement began on September 17 occurred either during accidental incidents or were inflicted by individuals outside the school environment. However, the toll remains significant: 215 students have been injured since the protests started in the Paris region before spreading to other cities.

Violence and Casualties

Last week in Tours, a 16-year-old high school student lost sight in one eye during a school blockade. On Monday, a 15-year-old teenager had his hand amputated due to a police-launched grenade in Lens, northern France. Additionally, more than 700 security force members and nearly 100 education sector workers have been injured.

The Ministry of Interior announced on Monday evening that the General Inspectorate of the National Police, the oversight body responsible for monitoring police performance, has opened ten investigations since the start of the movement.

Expansion to Universities

Authorities fear the unrest may expand nationwide as university students are expected to join the high school protesters on Tuesday. The Student Union reported that 32 university sites were closed on Monday. In Caen, western France, over 200 young people gathered near the university campus before the demonstration began.

Mathieu, a student, told AFP that witnessing the suppression of basic freedoms like the right to protest, along with daily reports of injuries from police violence, strengthens their resolve to fight. According to Ministry of Education data, the number of disrupted schools dropped to 589 on Monday, compared to around 800 on Friday, out of 3700 secondary institutions nationwide serving students aged 15 to 18.

Political Context and Government Response

This wave of protests occurs less than six months before the presidential election, amidst a tense social and political climate marked by rising prices and budget cuts affecting youth housing aid. The government faces difficulty managing this crisis, described as one of the most sensitive since Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was appointed a year ago.

While unions accuse the government of disproportionate repression, the administration maintains a firm stance against violence, blaming the left-wing party La France Insoumise for the unrest. The party expressed regret over the violence but criticized the executive branch for reducing the protest movement solely to these excesses.