French student protests leave 24 schools burned or looted, 400-plus shut
Version 2: Additional outlets reported the same French school protests with new detail: the closures cover up to 500 schools rather than just more than 400, the unrest began on 21 September at a lycée in Créteil and turned into riots, authorities reported more than 5,000 detentions, the students' demands are named, and one report gives a different name for the education minister.
In short
Protests by French high school students left 24 schools burned or looted and halted classes in 400 to 500 institutions nationwide, according to TASS, Kommersant and Vedomosti. The education minister, named by TASS and Kommersant as Édouard Geffray, said 78 people in the national education system were injured. The unrest began on 21 September at a lycée in Créteil outside Paris and spread across the country, with authorities reporting more than 5,000 detentions on 3 October, Kommersant reported.
Read the full story 2 min read
Twenty-four schools in France were burned or looted during protests by high school students, and classes were suspended fully or partly in 400 to 500 schools, according to TASS, Kommersant and Vedomosti. RIA Novosti put the number of damaged institutions at more than 20. The education minister, named by TASS and Kommersant as Édouard Geffray, told France 2 and France Inter that 78 people in the national education system had been injured and that “there was a deliberate attack on them”. Vedomosti, citing France 24, attributed the same statements to Education Minister François Hollande; the documents do not explain the difference. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
The protests began on 21 September at the Lycée Saint-Exupéry in Créteil, a suburb of Paris, and quickly spread across the country, Kommersant reported. It said the actions increasingly turned into urban riots, with protesters firing fireworks at police, setting fires and vandalising property. On 3 October, French authorities reported more than 5,000 detentions during the protests, and the government said far-left groups linked to Jean-Luc Mélenchon's La France Insoumise were behind the radicalisation, according to Kommersant. [ 3 ]
Students' demands concern systemic problems in schools. Kommersant listed overcrowded classes, teacher shortages, the poor state of school buildings and overloaded timetables. Vedomosti, citing France 24, also listed a shortage of teachers and medical staff, overcrowded classes and uncomfortable temperatures, and said the protests are organised by the largest student union, the Union of Lycéens, with most demonstrators aged 15 to 18. [ 3 , 4 ]
Kommersant reported that the grievances are sharpest in Paris suburbs, where schools face the most acute problems, while private and mixed city schools feel them less, which is why discontent concentrated in suburban lycées. It added that youth gangs from the suburbs interested in looting and vandalism joined the actions, accelerating the shift to disorder that it said becomes a confrontation with police and disrupts the schools themselves. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
The damage and closures disrupted lessons for an unspecified number of students across France and injured 78 people working in the school system, according to the education minister. The documents also indicate the dispute over school conditions has widened into clashes with police and a political argument, with the government blaming far-left groups and one outlet reporting the protests are organised by the main student union.
Key facts
- Twenty-four schools in France were burned or looted during high school student protests, according to TASS, Kommersant and Vedomosti. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Classes were suspended fully or partly in 400 to 500 schools, Kommersant and Vedomosti reported; TASS said more than 400. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Education Minister Édouard Geffray, speaking on France 2 and France Inter, said 78 people in the national education system were injured, Kommersant reported. [ 3 ]
- The protests began on 21 September at the Lycée Saint-Exupéry in Créteil, a Paris suburb, and spread nationwide, Kommersant reported. [ 3 ]
- French authorities reported more than 5,000 detentions during the protests on 3 October, according to Kommersant. [ 3 ]
- The government says far-left groups linked to Jean-Luc Mélenchon's La France Insoumise are behind the radicalisation of the protests, Kommersant reported. [ 3 ]
- Students are protesting overcrowded classes, teacher shortages, the poor condition of school buildings and overloaded timetables, according to Kommersant and Vedomosti. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Vedomosti, citing France 24, said the protests are organised by the largest student union, the Union of Lycéens, and that most demonstrators are aged 15 to 18. [ 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Twenty-four educational institutions in France were burned, looted or destroyed during protests. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Classes were suspended in several hundred schools, with figures ranging from more than 400 to between 400 and 500. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- A French education minister announced the school damage and closures in broadcast interviews. [ 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Who France's education minister is: Kommersant and TASS name Édouard Geffray, while Vedomosti names François Hollande. The documents disagree on the minister's name, and none explains the discrepancy; Vedomosti attributes its account to France 24.
- The exact number of affected institutions. RIA Novosti says more than 20, TASS, Kommersant and Vedomosti say 24, and the closure figure is given as more than 400 by TASS and 400 to 500 by Kommersant and Vedomosti.
- How many students were affected by the closures. No document gives a figure for pupils or students.
- Whether the reported detentions and the government's claim about far-left involvement have been confirmed elsewhere. Both are reported by Kommersant alone, attributed to French authorities and the government.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- First protest actions begin at the Lycée Saint-Exupéry in Créteil, a Paris suburb, and spread across the country. [ 3 ]
- French authorities report more than 5,000 detentions during the protests. [ 3 ]
- RIA Novosti reports that more than 20 educational institutions were damaged during protests in France. [ 1 ]
- TASS reports 24 educational institutions destroyed and, citing the education minister, classes suspended in more than 400 schools. [ 2 ]
- Kommersant reports 24 schools burned or destroyed and 400 to 500 schools suspending classes, and quotes the minister saying 78 education staff were injured. [ 3 ]
- Vedomosti, citing France 24, reports 24 schools burned or looted and 400 to 500 lycées suspending classes, and lists the students' demands. [ 4 ]