More than 5,000 people detained in 5 days during high school protests in France
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported that the number of people detained today during the intense high school protests in the country has risen to 1,747, and announced that more than 5,000 people have been detained since Monday.
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The number of detentions is rising in the high school protests that began last week in France in response to teacher shortages and educational conditions, and have since spread across the country.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported that the number of people detained nationwide today has risen to 1,747, noting that the total number of those detained since Monday has exceeded 5,000. Nunez stated that 85 percent of those detained are minors. According to end-of-day data from the Ministry of Education, 735 educational institutions across the country were affected by protests or disruptions, while Minister Nunez announced that violent incidents occurred around 158 schools. It was reported that some protests, which began peacefully, turned into violent acts as they progressed.
French Minister of Education Edouard Geffray reported that 3 education workers were injured in today's incidents, compared to 31 the previous day.
Protests expected to continue
Minister Geffray also met with representatives of high school and university students, education unions, and parent organizations during the day. Following the meeting, student organizations stated that they did not see the concrete measures they expected from the government and called for the continuation of the protests. While distancing themselves from the violent incidents, student organizations reiterated their demands for addressing teacher and staff shortages, reducing the number of students in classrooms, and increasing resources allocated to education.
Student organizations in France have called for new protests to be held in high schools and universities on Tuesday, October 6. Regional branches of some teachers' unions have also called on education workers to go on strike on the same day to support the students.
While clashes between police and demonstrators have occurred on the streets of France, where heavy security measures have been taken due to the protests, police intervened against the crowd with tear gas in Strasbourg.