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Protests Close Hundreds of French Schools as Student Sustains Serious Hand Injury in Clashes
On Monday, Education Minister Edouard Geffray ordered lessons suspended at between 400 and 500 high schools across France, citing unmet security conditions after nearly three weeks of student blockades and protests.
Students across France have protested since mid-September over overcrowded classrooms with up to 35 pupils, teacher shortages, dilapidated buildings and long school days, with tens of thousands demonstrating in cities including Marseille, Strasbourg, Tours and Lille.
Violent clashes have resulted in more than 5,000 arrests, about 85 percent of them minors, while 78 education staff members were injured and 24 schools burned or ransacked since the movement began.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu vowed not to "yield an inch to violence" and pledged to accelerate a casseur-payer bill making those responsible for property damage liable for repair costs, as Geffray alleged far-left activists infiltrated the movement.
Protest organizers called for continued demonstrations Tuesday, October 6, dubbed Act III, while teaching unions including the CGT, CFDT and FSU scheduled a national strike for the same day, citing lack of concrete government measures.
A 15-year-old student lost one of his hands this Monday during a confrontation between police officers and protesters near a school in France, reported an authority of the country. According to the regional newspaper La Voix du Nord, the young man's hand was pulled out after he took a scatter grenade launched by the anti-motive police and the artifact exploded in his hand, however, there are divergent versions in the French press about how the t…