Police use tear gas in Paris as students protest school funding
In short
Police fired tear gas at a barricaded Paris high school and at demonstrators at Place de la Bastille on October 8 as protests over school funding continued across France. The Education Ministry said 375 schools were fully or partly closed, while the Interior Ministry reported more than 6,600 arrests since late September.
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French police used tear gas at Hélène Boucher high school in northeastern Paris on October 8 after students blocked it with garbage bins, Associated Press reported. Police also used tear gas against demonstrators at Place de la Bastille, according to AP and UPI. The protests continued as students demanded more money for schools. [ 3 , 9 ]
Riot police gathered in side streets near the high school as students arrived. The school has been a site of clashes and was among hundreds disrupted by protests that day. At least a dozen demonstrations supporting the high school students' movement were planned across France, AP reported. Its report said tear gas and a water cannon were used at the Bastille rally. [ 3 ]
The Education Ministry said 375 schools were fully or partly closed on October 8. The Interior Ministry reported more than 6,600 arrests since late September, when the protests began, according to AP. Most of the students involved were under 18. The Seattle Times' AP report said the movement focused on school underfunding, with many schools facing deteriorating facilities and insufficient staff. [ 3 , 4 ]
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, in a televised address, condemned violence, attacks on students and staff, injuries to police, damage to schools and lost teaching time, according to the AP report carried by The Seattle Times. He also criticised political leaders whom he accused of exploiting the anger for electoral battles. [ 4 ]
Education Minister Édouard Geffray held talks with students and teachers in Reims, UPI reported. He said the government would implement an emergency plan to replace absent teachers, another demand of protesters. UPI also reported that local officials said a school in a Bordeaux suburb had been ransacked and that a fire at a police station in Bordeaux damaged the front of the building before being extinguished. [ 9 ]
Why it matters
Students are demanding more education funding amid reports of deteriorating school buildings and insufficient staff. Education Minister Édouard Geffray said the government would introduce an emergency plan to replace absent teachers, according to UPI.
Key facts
- Students barricaded Hélène Boucher high school with garbage bins before police moved in with tear gas. [ 3 , 4 , 8 ]
- Police also fired tear gas at demonstrators at Place de la Bastille. [ 3 , 8 , 9 ]
- The Education Ministry said 375 schools were fully or partially closed on October 8. [ 3 , 4 , 8 ]
- The Interior Ministry reported more than 6,600 arrests since protests began in late September. [ 3 , 4 , 8 ]
- Students are demanding more funding for schools, including those with deteriorating buildings. [ 4 , 8 , 9 ]
- UPI reported that Geffray held talks with students and teachers in Reims and announced an emergency plan to replace absent teachers. [ 9 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The reports do not specify when the emergency plan to replace absent teachers would begin or how much it would cost. UPI reported the minister's announcement but supplied no timetable or funding amount.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- On October 8, Associated Press reported tear gas at Hélène Boucher high school, 375 school closures or partial closures, and more than 6,600 arrests since late September. [ 3 ]
- On October 8, The Boston Globe reported the Paris protests and Lecornu's criticism of violence and political exploitation of the unrest. [ 8 ]
- On October 8, UPI reported tear gas at the Bastille rally and Geffray's emergency plan to replace absent teachers. [ 9 ]