Paris School Protests Escalate as Police Fire Tear Gas at Barricaded Lycée

Full report

Early Thursday morning, dozens of students dragged rubbish bins into position outside the Hélène Boucher lycée in northeastern Paris, erecting fresh barricades before police moved in with tear gas. The school is one of the flashpoints in the capital and one of hundreds of schools disrupted Thursday; the Education Ministry said 375 schools were fully or partially closed, down from Tuesday's level.

The Interior Ministry says police have made more than 6,600 arrests since students took to the streets in late September demanding more education funding, most of them under 18. In a TV address, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu condemned the violence and accused political leaders of exploiting students' anger for electoral battles. Emma Khelil, an 18-year-old former student of the lycée, told the AP she feared police violence but the movement would not lose momentum: "As long as things don't change, we're going to see the movement grow stronger." At least a dozen demonstrations in support of the students are planned across France later in the day.

Background

Students are protesting under-funded schools: rundown, leaking buildings, missing desks and chairs, no air conditioning in summer, even rats, plus staff shortages and some of Europe's highest compulsory classroom hours. The unrest has spilled into Belgium: the mayor of Liège banned public gatherings until midnight on October 16, and police used water cannon and tear gas Wednesday against several hundred protesters; nearly 90 people were arrested and several officers injured.