New clashes erupt as protests disrupt over 560 French schools

The students say their school hours are excessively long, conditions are inadequate, classrooms are overheated and staff absences are too frequent.(AFP) — French high school students lit fires and hurled projectiles at police Friday, prompting officers to fire tear gas as new clashes erupted nationwide in an escalating protest movement demanding better conditions in education.The government says the students, who are in their mid- to late teens and attend lycées, have every right to air grievances but has condemned violence, including an incident in which a police officer was chased, kicked and beaten by a group of youths.The movement, which began in the Paris region in September and rapidly spread nationwide, has seen high school students block access to buildings and clash with police.Nearly 400 schools were closed Friday, with classes disrupted at at least 564 of the country’s 3,700 high schools, according to the Education Ministry.The students say their school hours are excessively long, conditions are inadequate, classrooms are overheated and staff absences are too frequent.“For a whole year, we didn’t have a science teacher. We don’t have any textbooks,” said Simon, a 15-year-old who declined to give his last name, outside Turgot High School in central Paris.“And still, we’re the lucky ones. It’s even worse in the suburbs.”‘Intolerable’In the western city of Brest, police used tear gas at Kerichen High School as students hurled projectiles at security forces, an AFP photographer said.Meanwhile, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described images from the eastern city of Belfort showing a group of youths surrounding a lone police officer and kicking him to the ground as depicting unusually severe violence that was “intolerable.”A 17-year-old high school student was arrested in connection with the incident. The officer lost consciousness, but his condition was not a cause for concern, Nuñez said.In Paris on Friday, fires damaged the entrances of two high schools — Léonard de Vinci in the south of the city and Gaston-Bachelard in the southeast — and firefighters were called to extinguish the blazes, an AFP photographer said.Students have accused police of using excessive force and causing injuries by regularly firing tear gas canisters to disperse the protests.Police have launched internal investigations into accusations of brutality against three demonstrators.In the southern city of Toulouse, protesters administered eye drops to one another after police used tear gas, AFP images showed.In Aubervilliers, north of Paris, police used batons and riot shields to control protesters.‘Held hostage’The protests have also drawn a strong political response just over six months before the presidential election, with the government accusing the hard-left party France Unbowed, known as LFI, of being behind the movement. Its outspoken leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is again running for president.But senior LFI official Manuel Bompard accused the government of “descending into conspiracy theories.”Education Minister Édouard Geffray said “the high school student movement is being held hostage by ultra-violent fringe groups.”He told BFMTV that at least 65 staff members, including 40 high school principals, have been injured since the movement began.About 170 students have been injured, while more than 100 high schools have suffered “severe damage,” he said.“Parents must clearly step up and tell their children not to go” to the protests, he added.“What matters now is ensuring our children are no longer out on the streets, because they are in danger.”Outside Claude Monet High School in southern Paris, 53-year-old Anya stood on tiptoe, worried her teenage son might have joined the protest with his classmates.“We banned him from coming. I hope he isn’t here, but he did leave the house, so … We’re afraid the situation might escalate,” she said, keeping a safe distance from a burning trash bin.Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said he had asked prosecutors to hold parents liable for damage caused by their children during the protests and require them to pay for repairs.Since the movement began, about 2,000 people have been taken into police custody, 90% of them minors, Darmanin told RTL.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads