French students launch fresh protests as around 200 schools close nationwide

French students launched a fresh round of nationwide protests on Tuesday, with around 200 schools closed as teachers’ unions joined demands for increased education funding and better study conditions.

Marches began in Lyon and Nantes, while students blockaded schools in Paris, Rennes and Strasbourg during the fifth round of mobilization, Le Parisien reported.

Education Minister Edouard Geffray told France Inter that “around 200 establishments are closed,” describing the figure as lower than the previous week.

He said a consultation platform for high school students had received 86,000 contributions and that nearly 1,000 contract teachers were being recruited to strengthen replacement capacity.

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In Paris, students, parents and teachers gathered near the Helene-Boucher high school, while protesters also partially blocked the Turgot and Montaigne high schools.

A march was scheduled to leave Place d’Italie at 2 pm local time (1200GMT) and head toward Les Invalides.

Paris-Pantheon-Assas University moved classes online after blockades affected its Assas and Vaugirard campuses. A police source confirmed a confrontation between two groups outside Assas earlier in the morning, with students reporting that one classmate was injured.

Teachers’ unions FSU-SNUIPP and SNES-FSU called on members to join the mobilization, citing shared demands over public education, working conditions and pay.

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Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined protesters outside the Paul-Eluard high school in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, where around 20 lawyers gathered to form a protective chain around students.

Speaking to BFMTV, Thunberg denounced an “extremely violent” police force confronting young people demonstrating for “the bare minimum.”

“This shows everything about the police and who they really protect. Law enforcement is supposed to protect young people,” she said.

The movement’s demands include greater education spending and opposition to the Parcoursup university admissions platform.

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President Emmanuel Macron urged demonstrators to remain calm and respect people and property.

More than 6,800 people, overwhelmingly minors, have been detained since the movement began, according to Le Parisien. The national police watchdog, IGPN, has opened 24 investigations into suspected police violence.

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