Gen Z protests in France have grown into a major movement. More than 400 people have been detained across the country in protests that began over overcrowded classes, teacher shortages and other problems in the education system, the BBC reports.
Several people, including teachers, students and police officers, were injured in protests on Tuesday (September 29). The education ministry said at least 400 schools were affected. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said most of those detained were minors.
The protests began in Paris, where students have been blockading school entrances for several days in anger over crowded classrooms, teacher shortages and other problems. Officials said at least 10 teachers and several students were injured on Tuesday, along with 48 law enforcement officers. Pictures and videos showed protesters setting fire to bins and damaging bus stops.
“We came here to send a message. We didn’t come to smash everything for no reason. We came to say the education system has completely broken down. We have 34 students in every class, which is not realistic at all. Teachers are overworked,” a 16-year-old student told AFP.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on X that “students have the right to protest”, but condemned reports of violence as “in no way acceptable”.
“440 people have been detained. We don’t have the final count yet, but I am told that two-thirds of them have been taken into police custody,” Nuñez told a media outlet. French media said protesters threw objects at police, who responded with batons and tear gas.
Riyad Rani, president of the Union Syndicale Lycéenne, which represents students, told AFP the French government was carrying out “repression” against protesters and accused police of using excessive force. Some French politicians criticised the police, but Nuñez said their action had been “very restrained and proportionate”.
“The right to protest is a fundamental freedom. But in no way can it be used as an excuse for such acts. Legitimising them, or calling for more blockades in this situation, puts our students and public servants at risk. It is irresponsible,” Geffray said on social media on Tuesday evening.
The movement began last week at lycées, the French equivalent of sixth forms in the UK or high schools in the US, in the Ile-de-France region around Paris. On Monday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu warned it would be “irresponsible” if the protests turned more violent. Earlier, 164 people had been arrested.
On Tuesday, alongside the student protests, unions representing teachers, hospital staff and public servants held a nationwide strike over low pay, working conditions and other issues. Nuñez said at least 200,000 people took part, and most events passed without major incident.
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