Demonstrators clash with riot police in France as education protests mount

Police have fired tear gas at protesters blockading French high schools as tens of thousands of students and activists rally across France in a mounting wave of protests demanding government improvements to the education system.

Students in Marseille, Nantes and Lyon began demonstrations on Tuesday morning, with demonstrators holding aloft signs which read “they don’t really care about us” and “survive or study”.

In Strasbourg, Lyon and Rennes, the protests turned violent at times, with police firing tear gas and protesters lighting fires in the streets and hurling projectiles.

The protests started two weeks ago in Paris’s disadvantaged suburbs, lighting a blaze that has spread across the country. The government said that the movement has turned into urban violence and has deployed riot police to some rallies.

On Monday, a 15-year-old’s hand was blown off during clashes between high-schoolers and the police in northern France. The government said that around 200 to 250 protesters had thrown objects at the police.

A French newspaper, La Voix du Nord said that the teenager lost his hand and part of his arm after he picked a police grenade during the protest.

Nearly 2,000 high schools have been blockaded or closed for the day, according to the High School Students Union.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has ordered ministers to address the students’ demands, including replacing underskilled teachers, making lunch breaks longer and changing the length of the school day.

Lecornu also said that the government will look into repairing old campuses, as he demanded ministers send in proposals by the end of October. But there are doubts about how quickly the government can respond.

Credit: aljazeera.com

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