Hundreds of French high schools will begin a second week of closures on Monday as protests over dilapidated schools and classrooms, overcrowding and teacher shortages precede a nationwide day of demonstrations on Tuesday.
Between 400 and 500 high schools are expected to remain completely or partially closed on Monday in France, out of a total of 3,700, Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on Sunday evening.
Student unions have nevertheless called for a national day of demonstrations on Tuesday. CGT union head Sophie Binet told TF1 television on Monday that CGT union members will attend Tuesday’s demonstrations “to protect high school students. The protests began in late September at a high school in a Paris suburb over teacher shortages before spreading nationwide. Security officials fear that an organised protest in central Paris in particular could see further violence amid concerns that far-left and anarchist groups could try to take over the protests.
READ | Nearly 500 Schools In France To Be Closed Monday Over Student Protests On Monday, BFMTV showed images of police and student skirmishes in Lille in northern France.
“We’ve been appalled by what we have seen over the past 10 days and by the unprecedented crackdown that the government has organised against the protests by high school students,” she said.
