A fire has gutted part of a high school in Nantes and a school director was hospitalised in northern France as a wave of student protests over learning conditions turned violent, with hundreds detained and dozens of officers hurt. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called an interministerial crisis meeting on Thursday.
The unrest, now several days old, has spread from the Paris region to cities across the country. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said protests or blockades affected 356 schools on Wednesday alone, when police detained 625 people and 83 police officers and gendarmes were injured.
– We are observing the movement expanding – said Nuñez, pointing to growing reports of objects thrown at officers, damaged property and attempted arson.
The education ministry reported 119 injured students and education workers since the mobilisation began, 34 of them school staff.
Deliberate fire in Nantes, director wounded in Pas-de-Calais
The most serious incident came on Thursday morning in Nantes, where a blockade of the Nelson-Mandela high school was accompanied by flames in the entrance area that spread to the building’s facade. Deputy head Gaëlle Cordier told AFP the fire had been started deliberately, though investigators have not yet established the exact circumstances. The blaze was brought under control but destroyed the school hall. According to RTL, the damage is serious enough that the school, which has more than 1,700 students, will stay closed for several weeks.
Similar scenes were reported elsewhere. Le Parisien described a fire at the Henri-Matisse high school in Trappes that broke out after fireworks were used. In Auchel, in the Pas-de-Calais department, the head of the Fernand-Degrugillier vocational high school was struck near the ear by a firework projectile on Thursday morning and taken to hospital. Local authorities reported 37 arrests linked to events in the department, and the prefect condemned the violence near schools.
University students join as campuses shut down
The mobilisation is no longer limited to high schools. Students at French universities began joining the protests on Thursday. According to the Union Étudiante organisation, around 30 campuses were blockaded in the morning, including in Paris, Strasbourg, Marseille, Lyon, Reims, Poitiers and Nanterre. In Lille, police used tear gas outside the Faidherbe high school, bus stops were damaged and rubbish bins set alight, and students from the local law faculty joined the protest. TF1/LCI reported that by 11 a.m. on Thursday about 500 people had been detained and 50 officers injured outside Paris and its immediate suburbs.
Protesters cite staff shortages, absent teachers, overcrowded classes, the condition of school buildings and learning conditions. Some also point to pressure linked to the Parcoursup university admissions system.
A student at a high school in Herblay-sur-Seine told Le Parisien that protesters wanted to highlight classes of nearly 40 pupils, poorly prepared timetables and the quality of canteen meals. Le Monde stressed that many blockades have passed off peacefully, and most protests have not turned violent.
The conduct of French security forces is also under scrutiny. IGPN, the French police watchdog, has opened three investigations into injuries sustained by young people during events in Sevran, Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône and Tours. In Tours, a young man was taken to hospital with head injuries. Prosecutor Catherine Sorita-Minard said the eye injuries were consistent with being hit by a projectile fired from a police LBD launcher, and an investigation is to establish the exact circumstances. Nuñez said that because officers are also dealing with minors, coercive measures should be used proportionately.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced that lessons would be organised remotely in schools where blockades or damage prevent classes from being held safely. The ministry also plans to launch a consultation platform through which students can present their demands, with a summary of the consultations and answers to the issues raised to follow.
Źródło: Polsat News, Fot. Polsat News
