- Published
As dustbins burn and students chant "everyone hates the police" in the French city of Lille, one teenager explains why he and his friends have taken to the streets.
asserted
he → publish → streets
We have to go and find some at the start of every lesson," the 16-year-old, who did not want to give his name, says of his school.
asserted
who → have → school
"We've got 50 minutes to eat at lunchtime but there are 2,000 of us that need to get through the canteen.
asserted
that → get → canteen
He is one of hundreds of thousands of students who have protested across France since the end of last month over staff shortages and dilapidated facilities in the country's lycées, secondary schools attended by 15 to 18-year-olds.
asserted
who → protest → olds
Despite the government's apparent attempts to make concessions, the students show no sign of backing down.
asserted
students → make → sign
"They have armies, they have the police, they have the powers," says Massicella, 18, as she marches through Lille.
asserted
she → have → Lille
"But we have the mass population."
asserted
we → have → population
The protests, which have turned violent, have become a focal point in France's polarised politics, with all sides accusing the other of escalating tensions.
asserted
sides → turn → tensions
As a presidential election approaches, politicians on both the hard right and hard left have sought to capitalise on the unrest and on what many see as the government's inability to resolve the crisis.
asserted
many → approach → crisis
The protests - ignited at the Lycée Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry in the deprived Paris suburb of Créteil - have struck a chord across the country.
asserted
protests → ignite → country
Videos of rats scuttling through corridors in other lycées soon hit social media, providing striking symbols of the discontent.
asserted
Videos → scuttle → discontent
Other videos on TikTok and Instagram showed broken toilets, holes in walls and mouldy ceilings across the country.
asserted
videos → show → country
Students have complained of unbearable heat in the summer and freezing classrooms in the winter.
asserted
Students → complain → winter
The anger has also focused on long school hours, chronic staff shortages, overcrowded classes and a deeply unpopular university admissions system.
asserted
anger → focus → hours
The problem for the French government - which became clearer as we spoke to dozens of pupils this week - is that even if a tiny minority of schools have a problem with rodents, a very large number of pupils believe their own education is failing them.
asserted
education → become → them
On Tuesday, the government said 250,000 people marched, most of them young.
asserted
most → say → them
The trade unions said it was more like half a million.
asserted
it → say → million
But it is not just students taking to the streets - their teachers are joining them.
asserted
teachers → take → them
Secondary school teacher Marine Monins, who joined the demonstrations in Lille, shows us a laminated timetable which she says illustrates the problem.
asserted
she → join → problem
It has become normal for pupils to start at 8am and finish as late as 6pm, but the days are punctuated by hours-long gaps because of bad planning and staff shortages.
When lessons do go ahead, the classes are typically packed with 35 pupils (by comparison, the average secondary school class in England has fewer than 23 pupils).
"It's now impossible to give every child the attention they deserve," Monins explains.
asserted
Monins → become → attention
On Thursday, the French government made its first sign of ceding ground to protesters, with a promise of 3,000 extra supply teachers in the coming days.
asserted
government → make → days
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has said by the end of October there will be a plan unveiled to respond to the crisis.
asserted
Lecornu → say → crisis
Ministers have said they could look again at resources for schools within next year's squeezed budget.
uncertain
they → say → budget
But this has been met with a collective shrug at barricaded school gates across the country.
asserted
this → meet → country
"It goes beyond having decent toilets in schools," lycée student Alcidor says in Paris, under the statue of Marianne at Place de la République, a place synonymous with protest.
asserted
Alcidor → go → protest
"It's strong anger from the youth in France that doesn't feel represented, that feels abandoned, that feels unheard and is scared of what's coming in the future.
asserted
what → feel → future
"
The unrest has resulted in widespread arrests and injuries.
asserted
unrest → result → arrests
So far, almost 7,000 people have been detained during the disorder with more than 85% being children, according to the interior ministry.
uncertain
% → detain → ministry
More than 700 police officers have been injured in the past three weeks.
asserted
officers → injure → weeks
But rights groups and unions accuse the police of resorting to heavy-handed tactics against minors, including the use of batons, tear gas and non-lethal flash-ball guns.
asserted
groups → accuse → batons
At least 200 pupils have been injured, along with dozens of teachers.
asserted
pupils → injure → teachers
A 15-year-old boy's hand was blown off during a confrontation between police and demonstrators in the northern city of Lens.
asserted
hand → blow → Lens
Reports of how the teenager sustained the injury differ.
asserted
teenager → sustain → injury
A police union source cited by the AFP news agency said the boy appeared to have picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot police, which then exploded in his hand.
asserted
which → cite → hand
However, a witness told local media that the teenager did not pick up the grenade.
asserted
teenager → tell → grenade
A teacher at the boy's school, Bastien Riez, who is also a union rep, believes that current police tactics could irrevocably damage the relationship with France's youth.
uncertain
tactics → believe → youth
"For many, this is their first experience of democracy and protest, and they are met with police and a sham of social dialogue and democracy.
asserted
they → meet → dialogue
I fear that many young people will stop believing in this so-called democracy altogether."
asserted
people → fear → democracy
Police have since been banned from using stun grenades at school protests.
asserted
Police → ban → protests
But Parisian pupil Kaspar, 15, speaks of his fear when coming face-to-face with police in full riot gear.
asserted
Kaspar → speak → gear
…and 35 more, not listed.
The Aporia
