Students blockaded dozens of high schools and universities across France on Tuesday after rejecting the government’s proposed education reforms, although turnout was down on previous blockade days.
After returning from a two-week autumn break, some students resumed their protest campaign on Monday, calling on authorities to renovate dilapidated schools, reduce class sizes and create more university places.
A ‘day of blockades’ was called for Tuesday, with authorities saying that 48 out of France’s 3,700 lycées (high schools) were blocked, including in Paris, Rennes, and Lyon.
Fifty-one higher education institutions, mainly universities, out of 184 were also disrupted, officials said.
The USL student union said 500 establishments were blocked.
The union denounced what it called heavy-handed tactics, with “young people pinned against walls and riot police units deployed” outside schools.
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In the northwestern city of Rennes, around 30 students blocked the Brequigny Lycée, one of the country’s largest secondary schools with thousands of students.
Tensions quickly flared between students and a member of the school administration.
“You are not the majority,” the staff member protested.
“If we’re doing this, it’s because everything we’ve tried before hasn’t worked,” a student replied.
At a school in the southwestern city of Toulouse, students brandished placards, one saying “Angry, not far right”.
“Young people are sticking it to the education system,” read another, in a nod to the lyrics of a popular protest song against the far right.
In eastern Paris, many teachers at the Voltaire School showed solidarity with students by going on strike to protest at what they called a “massive” police presence outside.
The school protests have fuelled a movement against soaring prices and inadequate public services, which has drawn hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets over the past three weekends and led to some of the worst unrest seen in France in years on October 17th.
The school movement has inspired students in other European countries, including Italy and Spain, where the French word “blocus” (blockade) has become a hashtag.
Last week, the French government unveiled measures aimed at addressing some of the students’ demands, including the replacement of the university admissions platform, which has been criticised for a lack of transparency.
Student leaders say the proposals do not go far enough, demanding €10 billion in investment.
The student union L’Union Etudiante said one university in two was affected Tuesday and that over 50 campuses had been blockaded.
At the University of Lille in the north, around 40 students used bicycles and trash bins to block the campus, leading to the cancellation of classes.
“There’s a massive national mobilisation under way,” said Gauthier Capiez, a third-year political science student.
“If next year we manage to get rid of Parcoursup, among other things, then it will all have been worth it,” he said, referring to the university admissions platform.
A first-year master’s student in international law, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she was worried about her future but felt protesting was necessary.
“I’m doing it for France, and I’m doing it for future students, for my future children if I have any one day,” she said.
On Thursday, there will be a nationwide cross-sector strike, called by the country’s union federations in protest at proposed cuts to public sector services.
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On Friday, there is a call for young people to join a ‘six-seven mobilisation’.
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