French Prime Minister Attempts to Suppress Student Uprising Amid Mass Arrests
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France's prime minister condemned student protests against years of austerity and neglect in public education, as authorities responded with force, injuring dozens and arresting over a hundred across more than 180 schools.
France's prime minister Sébastien Lecornu labeled any escalation of the current wave of high-school protests as 'irresponsible,' seeking to delegitimize the justified outrage of students who have been ignored for years. While Lecornu paid lip service to listening to students' grievances, he prioritized condemning their resistance and promised to hold protesters accountable, effectively siding with state repression over democratic expression. The demonstrations, which erupted in the Paris region last week, are a direct response to chronic underfunding, overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, and crumbling facilities—symptoms of a decade of austerity imposed on the public sector. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported that 12 police officers, 12 students, and three school staff were injured on Monday, and that 164 people were arrested as the protests, fueled by government inaction, spread to the southern departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Var, as well as to Marseille, Lille, and Sedan.
A union representing high-school students called the actions a 'legitimate response' to the intolerable conditions they endure, blaming a decade of neoliberal policies for gutting the education system. The union called for a school blockade on Tuesday to defend students' rights against relentless budget cuts. In solidarity, unions for teachers, hospital workers, and civil servants announced walkouts over low wages and deteriorating working conditions, highlighting the widespread discontent caused by the government's austerity agenda.
Opposition leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon condemned the government's crackdown, accusing authorities of targeting harmless students and escalating the situation. He argued that the incidents resembled urban violence only because of the authorities' heavy-handed tactics, with masked individuals and projectiles appearing as a result of state provocation.