Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Police fired tear gas to control crowds in Paris and other parts of France on Tuesday as more than a quarter of a million people rallied nationwide in support of high school students demanding more funding for education, according to government figures. The protests added to the pressure on the administration of outgoing President Emmanuel Macron.
The demonstrations began at a high school in the Paris region in mid-September and have now grown into a nationwide movement. As pupils blockaded schools, marches were held in Paris, Marseille, Strasbourg and other cities. Student groups called for more protests on Thursday after nearly 500 people were detained on Tuesday.
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The Interior Ministry said 2,66,000 people joined demonstrations across France, including 56,000 in Paris, where small groups clashed with riot police in a city square after an otherwise largely peaceful march. The ministry also said nearly 500 people were detained during the day.
In Lille, adult demonstrator La Monimart said, “We need to listen to them. They are 17 years old; they are not completely clueless, and they know what they are talking about. It’s important to show that there are adults who support them.” The use of arrests, tear gas and riot-control weapons against teenagers has added to anger among some parents and teachers.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuez said the police response had been proportionate in “almost all cases” and said some protests had turned into riots, making police intervention necessary. Prime Minister Sbastien Lecornu said the government and school leaders must listen to students’ concerns and find solutions. In parliament, he denounced “ultra violence” threatening schools, said any “accidents” would be investigated, and called allegations that the police are racist a “lie”.
More than two weeks of class boycotts and school blockades, along with policing that has led to more than 6,500 arrests, mostly of minors, have turned the issue into a flashpoint in the early days of the presidential election campaign. University student Felix Barney said the police response was disproportionate and made no “any sense to hit minors”. Aurlien Le Coq of the far-left France Unbowed party said, “Riot police, batons, rubber bullets, tear gas,” and added that the violence was “absolutely unbearable”.
Nuez defended police tactics despite a growing number of serious injuries blamed on officers’ riot-control weapons. In the latest case, a 15-year-old boy lost a hand on Monday in an incident involving a police stun grenade. He said 715 officers had been injured.
The protests have struck a chord amid wider discontent in France. The article said frustrations run from fuel prices that have risen because of the Iran war to concerns over public spending limits, rising poverty and wealth inequality under Macron, who cannot run for a third consecutive term. Against that backdrop, complaints that shortages in education funding are putting students’ futures at risk have found support. A handwritten placard outside a Paris school read, “You say young people are the future, so listen to them.”
At the Hlne Boucher high school in Paris’ 20th district, protesters used overturned bins and bicycles to make a barricade. Like hundreds of other schools, it was closed. The Education Ministry said classes were fully or partly suspended at 891 schools on Tuesday. The ministry, facing criticism that it was ignoring the protesters, launched an online portal for high school students to anonymously describe problems at school and the changes they wanted.
At Hlne Boucher, parents and other adults stood between protesters and police. Emilia Sichili Suriam, a member of a parents’ association, said, “They are our children. Teachers, parents, federations, we all share the same goal: the protection of children’s rights, and it is a legitimate right to demonstrate and to make demands.” Students have highlighted rundown classrooms without basics such as desks and chairs, rooms that become stifling in summer without air conditioning and, in some cases, rat infestations. Other common complaints include staff shortages and heavy workloads. Compulsory classroom hours for French high school students are among the highest in Europe.
Suzanne Nijdam, president of the federation of student associations, said the protests would continue until the complaints were addressed. “So, we really need to act now, and it’s in the government’s hands, to see these demands through to the end,” she said. “It’s a matter of political priority, a matter of prioritising the youth and the future of our country.” In neighbouring Belgium, student protests were also reported, with more than 30 people arrested and several police personnel injured in Liege, while smaller protests took place in Brussels and other cities. Overall, the protests in France brought together student anger over school conditions, a strong police response and growing calls on the government to act.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
