Violent Clashes Erupt Across France as High School Students Protest Over Underfunded Education

Students fought running battles with police and several schools were ablaze Friday as violence gripped France with no end in sight to protests that have rocked the country. More than 400 schools remained closed on Friday as authorities scrambled to calm tensions after days of demonstrations that have seen hundreds of teenagers taken into custody.

Young people in Strasbourg, eastern France, were building barricades in tear gas-clouded streets, while more peaceful protests were underway in Lyon and other cities Friday. The protestors say France’s education sector is under-resourced and overstretched, complaining of overcrowding, unreplaced absent teachers, and serious disrepair.

Demonstrating in the Paris suburb of Pantin, 15-year-old Kesia told Reuters: “We are 35 per class, we don’t have enough chairs in classrooms, the one hour lunch break (is too short) for everyone to get food.”

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin expressed fears that the unrest would carry on through the weekend, stating on Friday: “We’ve moved from student protests to a question of public order.” Nationwide union-led protests in support of the high schoolers are planned for Tuesday.

After meeting with French Education Minister Édouard Geffray, parents and staff on Friday, student representatives called for non-violent protests to continue. “We disassociate ourselves from the urban violence,” said Nathanaël Combary, of the student union Renouveau Lyceen. “These are people who are not there to champion our demands.”

Authorities in several parts of the country banned gatherings around the schools that were closed Friday, though the measure appeared to have had little effect. Speaking to radio station RTL, Gérald Darmanin proposed making parents pay for the damage incurred by students, an idea criticized as “absurd” by the France Unbowed party.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday criticized elected officials for appearing to condone the violence, stating that those politically responsible cannot legitimize violence. Officials from the National Rally party have blamed their political opponents for the ongoing unrest.

In the Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris, damage from the unrest is estimated at 7 million euros ($7.9 million), according to regional authorities, with 3 million euros’ worth of damage estimated in the southern region of Occitanie. Police reported that some 2,000 people had been taken into custody over the student protests on Thursday alone, while Amnesty International accused police of using disproportionate force against minors.