French presidential campaign heats up as student protests fuel political clashes
- On Tuesday, Sept. 29, high school students across France blockaded dozens of schools to protest overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages, resulting in clashes with police and over 400 detentions as the movement spread nationwide beyond Paris.
- Coordinated disruptions fused with nationwide public-sector strikes as workers and students protested a proposed €54 billion austerity drive, which includes a fourth consecutive annual pay freeze for state employees designed to save €2 billion.
- Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported 440 detentions and 48 injuries to law enforcement officers during violent clashes outside schools. Officials estimated repair costs at €200,000, while students displayed slogans including "more hours of lessons than sleep."
- Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu condemned the escalation as "irresponsible," accusing the far-left France Unbowed party of hijacking the movement. Party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon countered, calling the government's response a "crackdown" with "obvious racist undertones."
- The unrest complicates Lecornu's path to passing the 2027 budget, due for unveiling on Thursday. With presidential elections seven months away, the protests underscore deep public dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron's minority government.
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487 Articles
More than 86,000 people took to the streets and nearly 900 schools totally or partially suspended classes, as reports of the use of force against minors grow
The courses will be "fully or partially" suspended in 400 to 500 lycées Monday in France, on the eve of a new day of blockages.
The French Minister of Education, Jeffre, said that up to 500 lycées would be closed on Monday because of student protests, 78 educational workers were injured and 1,747 people were detained on Friday.
Between 400 and 500 educational centers will remain totally or partially closed this Monday in France, according to the forecasts of the Ministry of Education, as a result of the increasingly violent student protests that have taken place since last week. In a meeting in the France 2 chain this Sunday, the head of the French education portfolio, Edouard Geffray, said that it previews that the number of establishments with classes suspended on Mo…
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