Police Deploy Tear Gas at Paris High School Amid Nationwide Student Protests
French riot police used tear gas at the Lycée Hélène Boucher in Paris as student demonstrations spread across the country, prompting dozens of arrests and school closures.
Police units moved into the Lycée Hélène Boucher in northeastern Paris on Thursday, deploying tear gas to disperse students who had erected barricades with rubbish bins. The school has become a focal point of the ongoing protests that began in September over learning conditions and the cost of living.
The French interior ministry reported more than 6,600 arrests since the demonstrations started, the majority involving minors. The Ministry of Education said 224 middle and high schools remained closed on Thursday, while 151 were partially open, leaving roughly 94 percent of institutions operating in some capacity.
Students at the Lycée Voltaire in the 11th arrondissement held a general assembly before joining a scheduled march at Place de la République, saying their teachers supported them and condemning police intimidation. Trade unions and other student groups were present at the demonstration.
Authorities have faced criticism after several adolescents sustained serious injuries, including a 14-year-old whose jaw was fractured by a tear-gas grenade and a 15-year-old who lost a hand in a stun-grenade incident. The interior minister announced a suspension of stun-grenade use at student protests.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray is set to visit a high school in Reims, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu reiterated the government's commitment to maintaining the education budget while urging fiscal consolidation.
"They had decided to charge and effectively go after the students, many of whom had shown no aggressive behaviour whatsoever toward the police officers," mayor Bally Bagayoko said in an interview, describing his support for the demonstrators.