France braces for national day of school protests after injuries and mass arrests

France braces for national day of school protests after injuries and mass arrests

France is braced for major protests on Tuesday, after organisers called for a nationwide day of action in support of students demanding more investment in education.

It comes after a week of demonstrations, which saw students blockading hundreds of schools, at least 190 students injured, and more than 5,000 people arrested.

One student had his hand blown off during a confrontation on Monday, while another was reportedly struck in the head by a tear gas grenade last week.

France’s prime minister said the government had announced measures to address their demands, but the Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL), a major organiser of the protests, said the government had offered “nothing concrete”.

The organisation called on people to join their mobilisation on Tuesday in the face of “this political deadlock and what we describe as unprecedented repression of the movement”.

Some other organisations have also shown their support for the students, with the teachers’ union SNES-FSU urging its members to join Tuesday’s protest.

The radical-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon described the protests as the “most powerful high school and university student youth movement” since 1968 – a year of major unrest, which saw millions of workers go on strike.

The wave of demonstrations began in September in Paris and has spread across the country, with students protesting over a range of issues, including overcrowded classrooms, run-down buildings, and a lack of teachers.