Protests at schools across France have resumed as high school students continue to demand higher education budgets and better learning conditions, a day after the country's prime minister asked ministers to produce an action plan.
According to Al Jazeera correspondent Natacha Butler in Paris, university students and several unions have joined nationwide demonstrations, and a large march was expected in the capital on Thursday. "They are moving around, trying to block streets," Butler said from outside a school where university students were erecting barricades across a large area. She added that they joined to show solidarity with high school students, saying they believed it was important for as many young people as possible to take part in the protests.
The wave of protests began at a high school in a poor area of Paris on September 21. Since then, tens of thousands of students across the country have marched with a range of demands, from renovating school buildings to reducing classroom hours.
Police response under scrutiny
Human rights groups accuse security forces of using excessive force against protesters. Several demonstrators have been injured, including a teenager who lost a hand and another whose jaw was broken by a stun grenade. The weapon was later banned from use in marches.
According to authorities, police officers and teachers have also been injured, and they accuse students of violent behavior. According to the Interior Ministry, at least 6,600 arrests have been made so far, mostly of minors. Authorities said 375 schools were fully or partially closed on Thursday, and twenty schools were burned or destroyed.
The protests are mounting pressure on the outgoing government of President Emmanuel Macron amid budget shortfalls, ahead of elections in April. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu condemned the violence in a televised address on Wednesday. He criticized "political leaders exploiting this anger to wage election battles," after opposition leader Jean-Luc Melenchon called on protesters to keep marching.
Lecornu has asked ministers to produce an action plan addressing students' demands before the end of the month, but protesters remain unconvinced. "For them, the government only talks about solutions but never actually takes concrete action, so they say they will keep taking to the streets until their demands are met," Butler said.
