Protests24 October, 20262 min read
Archive photo · 6 June 2021Student Protests Spread Across France From Créteil Over Poor School Conditions
“Poor school conditions sparked the protests.”
“antigovernment marchers are protesting expensive living conditions, high fuel prices and conditions in schools.”
Photo: Chabe01, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Protests began in outer Paris high schools over poor conditions and expanded nationwide. Movement broadened to unions and activists over expensive living conditions.
From schools to streets
Student protests in France escalated from peaceful demonstrations over poor school conditions to nationwide unrest, with young people leading a wider fight over inequality, politics and France's future. DW described 17-year-old Lyna Mettouchi saying years of underinvestment in education left schools with leaks, failing heating systems and inadequate facilities. El País placed the protests mainly in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, describing it as the country’s poorest province with the most immigrants and the youngest people.
Moktar, a third-year student from a very humble Tunisian-origin family, told the journalist, “The system expelled him.” The New York Times said the nationwide unrest began with a handful of student demonstrations at high schools in the working class Parisian suburb of Créteil, where high schoolers objected to inadequate resources and high workloads.
Division, arrests, and platforms
The New York Times said the unrest had broadened to encompass labor unions and other activists, and it reported that police have arrested thousands as the protests moved into their second month.
Rayan said, “We organize on social media. TikTok, also Snapchat. The cops still don’t understand that language,” while driving the journalist’s car through the neighborhood.
Center-right candidate and former prime minister Gabriel Attal proposed blocking these platforms during the protests.
French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that “nothing justifies” violence, and local officials could ban certain street gatherings if deemed necessary.
French authorities announced curfews, while protests “frequently descended into rioting, looting and arson.”
Parents, liability, and costs
France is considering plans to impose fines on those whose children vandalise or damage property, after footage showed angry parents dragging their children away from demonstrations.
Italy’s government approved measures including sending 500 soldiers to Milan until the end of the year and increasing financial liability on parents whose children were involved in vandalism and looting.
Under new rules in Italy, anyone taking part in a group of at least five people and endangering public safety during protests faces up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of 20,000 euros.
“Parents, in their capacity as holders of parental authority, are by right jointly and severally liable for damage caused by their minor children,” and the law includes exceptions when children are entrusted to a third party.
El País tied the protests to a broader sense of dead-end futures in Seine-Saint-Denis, quoting Moktar as lamenting, “The problem is they don’t consider us French. They despise us.”