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Getty Images / Hundreds of thousands of students have protested across France since the end of last month As dustbins burn and students chant "everyone hates the police" in the French city of Lille, one teenager explains why he and his friends have taken to the streets. "There aren't even enough chairs. We have to go and find some at the start of every lesson," the 16-year-old, who did not want to give his name, says of his school. "We've got 50 minutes to eat at lunchtime but there are 2,000 of us that need to get through the canteen." He is one of hundreds of thousands of students who have protested across France since the end of last month over staff shortages and dilapidated facilities in the country's lycées, secondary schools attended by 15 to 18-year-olds. Despite the government's apparent attempts to make concessions, the students show no sign of backing down. "They have armies, they have the police, they have the powers," says Massicella, 18, as she marches through Lille. "But we have the mass population." The protests, which have turned violent, have become a focal point in France's polarised politics, with all sides accusing the other of escalating tensions. As a presidential election approaches, politicians on both the hard right and hard left have sought to capitalise on the unrest and on what many see as the government's inability to resolve the crisis. Massicella, second left, and her friends have been protesting in Lille The protests - ignited at the Lycée Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry in the deprived Paris suburb of Créteil - have struck a chord across the country. Videos of rats scuttling through corridors in other lycées soon hit social media, providing striking symbols of the discontent. Other videos on TikTok and Instagram showed broken toilets, holes in walls and mouldy ceilings across the country. Students have complained of unbearable heat in the summer and freezing classrooms in the winter. The anger has also focused on long school hours, chronic staff shortages, overcrowded classes and a deeply unpopular university admissions system. Watch: Marseille school students explain why they're protesting The problem for the French government - which became clearer as we spoke to dozens of pupils this week - is that even if a tiny minority of schools have a problem with rodents, a very large number of pupils believe their own education is failing them. On Tuesday, the government said 250,000 people marched, most of them young. The trade unions said it was more like half a million. But it is not just students taking to the streets - their teachers are joining them. Secondary school teacher Marine Monins, who joined the demonstrations in Lille, shows us a laminated timetable which she says illustrates the problem. It has become normal for pupils to start at 8am and finish as late as 6pm, but the days are punctuated by hours-long gaps because of bad planning and staff shortages. When lessons do go ahead, the classes are typically packed with 35 pupils (by comparison, the average secondary school class in England has fewer than 23 pupils). "It's now impossible to give every child the attention they deserve," Monins explains. Teachers, including Marine Monins and Marjorie Roussel, have joined their students in calling for change On Thursday, the French government made its first sign of ceding ground to protesters, with a promise of 3,000 extra supply teachers in the coming days. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has said by the end of October there will be a plan unveiled to respond to the crisis. Ministers have said they could look again at resources for schools within next year's squeezed budget. But this has been met with a collective shrug at barricaded school gates across the country. "It goes beyond having decent toilets in schools," lycée student Alcidor says in Paris, under the statue of Marianne at Place de la République, a place synonymous with protest. "It's strong anger from the youth in France that doesn't feel represented, that feels abandoned, that feels unheard and is scared of what's coming in the future." Reuters / Police have been accused of heavy-handed tactics The unrest has resulted in widespread arrests and injuries. So far, almost 7,000 people have been detained during the disorder with more than 85% being children, according to the interior ministry. More than 700 police officers have been injured in the past three weeks. But rights groups and unions accuse the police of resorting to heavy-handed tactics against minors, including the use of batons, tear gas and non-lethal flash-ball guns. At least 200 pupils have been injured, along with dozens of teachers. A 15-year-old boy's hand was blown off during a confrontation between police and demonstrators in the northern city of Lens. Reports of how the teenager sustained the injury differ. A police union source cited by the AFP news agency said the boy appeared to have picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot police, which then exploded in his hand. However, a witness told local media that the teenager did not pick up the grenade. A teacher at the boy's school, Bastien Riez, who is also a union rep, believes that current police tactics could irrevocably damage the relationship with France's youth. "For many, this is their first experience of democracy and protest, and they are met with police and a sham of social dialogue and democracy. I fear that many young people will stop believing in this so-called democracy altogether." Police have since been banned from using stun grenades at school protests. Kaspar says strangers have been hijacking some protests But Parisian pupil Kaspar, 15, speaks of his fear when coming face-to-face with police in full riot gear. He says he and his friends have been protesting peacefully, but strangers were hijacking their protests. "These people are coming just to shoot fireworks at police officers and they run. This is not the message we want to send to the world." Police chie

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  • 发布时间：2026/10/10 07:24:33