French student protests over school conditions lead to clashes with police

Students, teachers and unions have marched across France demanding more funding and better working conditions in high schools, according to Politico Europe and Al Jazeera. The protests began in working-class Paris suburbs in late September and have spread nationwide, Politico Europe said. Demonstrators have blocked entrances to hundreds of high schools, citing missing teachers, overloaded timetables and dilapidated classrooms, Al Jazeera reported.

Police have responded with batons, tear gas and riot-control rounds during the demonstrations, Al Jazeera said. A 15-year-old boy in northern France lost his hand to a stun grenade fired by riot officers, according to Al Jazeera, and a 16-year-old in Tours lost an eye after being struck by a projectile that prosecutors said may have been a sub-lethal police weapon, according to Politico Europe and Der Spiegel. The government says 215 students and 715 police officers have been injured since the start of the movement, Al Jazeera added.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu defended police handling, saying accidents can happen and rejecting the label of police brutality, Politico Europe noted. He stated that what triggers police action is the occurrence of urban violence. Police have launched 10 internal investigations into allegations of brutality since the protests began, Al Jazeera reported.

More than 5,000 people, 87 percent of whom are minors, have been arrested since the start of the movement, Al Jazeera said. Since the start of the movement, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked, according to the Ministry of Education, Al Jazeera added. The government is also pushing legislation to make those responsible for damaging public property pay for repairs themselves, instead of using public funds, Al Jazeera reported.