Students across France intensified protests over education conditions on Tuesday, blocking entrances to dozens of high schools as demonstrations against the government continued to spread.
The French Education Ministry said 49 of the country’s 3,700 high schools had been blockaded by students on Tuesday morning, while several thousand secondary school and university students were expected to participate in a demonstration in Paris later in the day.
The protests, which began in September, have expanded in recent weeks into wider demonstrations over the rising cost of living, with some incidents marred by violence involving fringe groups and allegations of police brutality.
The unrest comes ahead of next year’s elections to elect a successor to President Emmanuel Macron.
In a joint statement issued on Monday, student and teachers’ unions called for increased mobilisation to sustain pressure on the government.
“Now is the time to step up the mobilisation by continuing to put pressure on the government,” the unions said.
Student association leader Ryad Rani also insisted that the demonstrations should continue, arguing that the campaign was not solely about students’ interests.
“We’re not just fighting for ourselves. We’re fighting for teachers, for their working conditions,” he said.
The government has announced several measures in response to the concerns, including plans to gradually replace an online platform used for admission into higher education institutions and provide additional funding to some of the country’s most disadvantaged schools.
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However, students have dismissed the interventions as inadequate.
Labour unions have also criticised the government’s proposed increase in the minimum wage, which includes an additional 0.6 per cent adjustment on top of the regular inflation-linked review.
One union leader described the proposed increase as “crumbs”, arguing that it fell short of addressing workers’ financial difficulties.
The unions have subsequently called for another nationwide day of strikes and demonstrations on November 17.
Last Thursday’s cost-of-living protests and strikes reportedly attracted about 575,000 demonstrators nationwide, according to government figures, while unions estimated participation at 1.5 million.
France, the European Union’s second-largest economy, is facing mounting pressure to reduce its public debt, limiting the government’s ability to respond to protesters’ demands with increased public spending.