Over 100 education staff injured during French student protests: Minister
School blockades continue despite government's pledge to deploy more than 3,000 substitute teachers
More than 100 education staff have been injured since the start of nationwide high school protests in France, Education Minister Edouard Geffray said Friday as students continued their blockades to demand better learning conditions.
“Unfortunately, yesterday brought us past the 100 mark for injured staff,” Geffray told reporters after meeting students and teachers at a high school in Cachan, near Paris, according to Le Parisien.
He condemned the “unspeakable violence” and praised staff who had protected students and school buildings.
A previous tally cited by the newspaper recorded injuries to 215 students and nearly 800 police officers and gendarmes since the movement began.
Some 71,500 people demonstrated across France on Thursday, including 24,500 in Paris, according to Interior Ministry figures. Authorities reported 504 arrests and 48 police officers and gendarmes injured during that day’s mobilization.
Students are protesting teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate facilities and school schedules.
Geffray said Friday that 3,024 substitute teachers were being contacted for deployment, with assignments expected later in the day or early next week. Additional contract teachers are also being recruited.
Student organizations nevertheless called for another day of demonstrations on Oct. 13, with some representatives seeking a meeting with France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
Blockades continued Friday in cities including Paris, Rennes and Strasbourg. Classes were canceled at Paris’ Lamartine school complex and during the morning at Pantheon-Assas University.
Separately, Paris prosecutors opened an investigation after a video circulated appearing to show a police officer kneeing a demonstrator in the face.
The case brings to five the number of investigations prosecutors have referred to the national police inspectorate, IGPN in Paris, over alleged police violence linked to the protests, with the nationwide figure surpassing 21.
CFDT union leader Marylise Leon welcomed the teacher deployments as a first step but said students’ broader demands remained unresolved. She also questioned the proportionality of the police response.
