Activist Greta Thunberg joins French student protests

Thunberg arrived at Paul Eluard high school in the heart of the movement in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis on Tuesday morning and stood among the students demonstrating.

“Young people are not being included in the conversation. Our future is being robbed away from us,” Thunberg told the AFP news agency.

Lawyers in robes had also formed a human chain to protect teens following numerous allegations of police brutality at demonstrations.

The protests started late last month as students demanded improvements on a range of issues, including the state of school buildings, a lack of teachers, crowded class schedules and other problems in the education system.

Students have piled up bins and erected security barriers outside hundreds of schools across the country.

Last Thursday, more than 70,000 people took to the streets in the latest major protest event.

Tuesday’s demonstration, backed by unions and a left-wing opposition party, France Unbowed, is expected to include a march through Paris and marches in other cities.

The university student union, l’Union, said on X: “They’re not listening to us, so we’re going to them.”

Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on France Inter on Tuesday morning that about 200 schools were closed, which was “fewer than last week”, adding that some near protest routes were closing to avoid damage.

The Ministry of National Education also said eight members of teaching staff were injured on Monday, mostly in the Paris region and cities of Bordeaux and Lyon, due to the protests.

On Monday, a 19-year-old graphic design student in Paris, Leo, told AFP that “Students aren’t being heard enough … not their proposals to authorities and elected officials.”

He added that the protesters, many being minors, were “disturbed by the level of repression never before seen for a student movement”.

Tuesday’s demonstrations supporting the students are expected to be followed on Saturday by wider public rallies against the rising cost of living.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters at a car show that he urged protesters to exercise restraint.

“These are issues that deserve time, consultations, discussion and respect,” Macron said.

According to the Ministry of Justice, more than 6,800 people, mainly minors, have been taken into police custody over the course of the protests.

Police have also opened investigations into 24 allegations of brutality against demonstrators.