France has been rocked by some of its worst urban unrest in years, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets in demonstrations that have frequently turned violent.
asserted
that → rock → demonstrations
France's main student union, UNEF, has called for rallies on Saturday, while the Yellow Vest movement, the anti-establishment force that emerged in 2018, has filed plans for a march through central Paris.
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that → call → Paris
After weeks of criticism for not doing enough to take the issue seriously, French President Emmanuel Macron has finally started to crackdown, pledging on Thursday to ban “illegitimate”.
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Macron → do → illegitimate
Speaking after a meeting with intelligence chiefs and senior ministers, Macron said demonstrations organised by groups such as trade unions would be allowed to go ahead but could be diverted along alternative routes to protect businesses.
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demonstrations → speak → businesses
“Last Saturday we had political and seditious acts by ultra-left groups whose aim is to bring down the Republic,” Macron said.
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Macron → have → Republic
Here’s everything you need to know about the protests and their origins.
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you → ’ → protests
Where the protests began
Demonstrations first erupted in September in a high school in Creteil, southeast of Paris, over a lack of staff.
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Demonstrations → begin → staff
From there, class strikes, blockades and demonstrations spread to other Paris suburbs and then nationwide, even in smaller towns.
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strikes → spread → towns
Hundreds of schools had to close because of damage or attacks on staff.
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Hundreds → have → staff
High schoolers said they had grievances over schools that are under-resourced, with dilapidated facilities and insufficient staff, notably in lower-income neighbourhoods.
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that → say → neighbourhoods
French media showed videos of scampering rats, collapsed ceilings, leaks, broken furniture and other woes in dilapidated schools.
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media → show → schools
Some students also complained that during summer heat waves, they roast in classrooms without air-conditioning, while in winter they freeze.
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they → complain → winter
They say school days, which often run from 8am-6pm, are too exhausting and the university entrance system is complex and unfair.
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system → say → 8am-6pm
Some university students also joined the protests.
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students → join → protests
There have been broader concerns in France that the country's education system is losing ground to other countries and failing in its mission to enable children from disadvantaged backgrounds to move up the social ladder.
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children → lose → ladder
Scores in reading comprehension and mathematics have plunged, according to the latest PISA report, which evaluates students worldwide.
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which → plunge → students
Why protests exploded
Demonstrations were boosted by other groups last week Saturday, protesting the high cost of living and what they say is the deterioration of the social welfare system.
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they → explode → system
The General Confederation of Labour (CGT), which is one of the country’s largest unions, backed the protests, issuing a call for lower prices and higher pensions and wages.
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which → back → prices
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets.
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thousands → take → streets
Protesters in Marseille stormed the town hall, painting an ‘A’ for anarchy on a wall, while in Paris, police fired tear gas and a water cannon and rioters threw stones and fireworks.
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rioters → storm → stones
In Lyon, protesters set fire to the city’s tourism office.
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protesters → set → office
French authorities said there were more than 500,000 protesters across the country, with more than 800 arrests in Paris alone.
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authorities → say → Paris
Macron has called for calm, saying “we all feel anger and shame” after “unprecedented violence” nationwide.
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we → call → violence
He vowed to “make examples if need be” of the rioters, warning for “those who want to spark violence and create unrest in our country, we will not yield”.
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we → vow → country
Police response to students has drawn ire
Riot police have liberally used tear gas and wielded their batons to disperse crowds during the student protests.
A police tear gas grenade shattered a 14-year-old’s jaw and many of his teeth.
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grenade → draw → teeth
A 15-year-old lost a hand in an incident involving a police stun grenade.
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old → lose → grenade
Other adolescents have also suffered life-changing injuries blamed on police weaponry during protests.
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adolescents → suffer → protests
Police and school staff have been targeted with powerful fireworks and other injury-causing projectiles.
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Police → target → fireworks
The interior ministry says acid has been hurled in some cases, and that people intent on destruction and looting have grafted themselves onto the high schoolers’ movement.
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people → say → movement
Presidential candidates are seizing the moment
Candidates campaigning to succeed Mr Macron in a coming presidential election in April and May have seized on the demonstrations as a political issue.
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Candidates → seize → issue
Mr Macron is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term.
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Macron → bar → term
Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has positioned himself firmly on the side of the students and has decried police actions.
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Mélenchon → position → actions
His party invited high school activists on stage at a rally, and then proposed lowering the voting age to 16 and scrapping selective admissions at universities.
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party → invite → universities
Meanwhile, far-right leader Marine Le Pen has called for broader police powers against rioters.
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Pen → call → rioters
Conservative former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, one of Le Pen’s main challengers for the presidency, has condemned those who “break things, burn things or assault people.”
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who → condemn → people
Other European countries have seen unrest
Taking grievances to the streets is hardly unusual in the country that spawned the French Revolution of 1789.
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that → see → 1789
But some other countries have also seen some student unrest.
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countries → see → unrest
In neighbouring Belgium, some schools closed in Liege, a day after violence in the city and arrests there.
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schools → neighbour → city
Several Italian cities also saw student protests last week, though on a smaller scale than in France and focused on a broader set of domestic grievances.
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cities → see → grievances
On Saturday there was a protest in Milan where rioters clashed with police, looted stores and set property on fire, emptying Piazza del Duomo and a luxury shopping arcade when the area would usually be teeming with shoppers.
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area → be → shoppers
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
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