France student protests leave 190 injured
At least 190 students have been injured since protests over education conditions began in the Paris region in mid-September, French Education Minister Edouard Geffray said Monday.
Geffray said the injuries resulted either from accidents or incidents involving protesters, including the use of improvised mortars, according to BFMTV.
Student demonstrations continued across France on Monday, with 589 schools and other educational establishments affected. Geffray described the figure as a decline from the previous week, when the protests intensified.
Students are demanding greater resources, better-maintained school buildings, smaller classes and measures to address staff shortages.
Arrests and injuries rise
A judicial source told BFMTV that 5,060 people have been taken into custody since the movement began, with minors accounting for 87% of those detained.
Geffray said 24 schools had been burned or ransacked, while 78 education ministry staff and around 600 police officers and gendarmes had been injured.
In the Paris region, more than 160 high schools were expected to remain closed Monday.
The protests have also produced a series of incidents at schools and in the streets.
At Vauquelin High School in Paris, three fires were reported near the entrance. The first was reported at about 7.50am, prompting firefighters to intervene and around 100 students to be evacuated.
Students also blocked access to Turgot High School using bins, fences and signs.
Students injured during protests
A 15-year-old student was seriously injured in the hand Monday after reportedly picking up a police grenade during a demonstration in the northern city of Lens, according to local media.
In Aix-en-Provence, police detained a 17-year-old student over the alleged throwing of a stone that struck a passerby in the eye several days earlier.
Five investigations have been opened by France’s General Inspectorate of the National Police into incidents linked to the protests.
The French Human Rights League has accused law enforcement of moving away from the rule of law and failing to respect legal standards during interventions against protesters.
Government seeks to contain crisis
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is seeking to ease tensions through five proposals and has called for decisions before the end of October.
Meanwhile, political reactions have intensified. Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of La France Unbowed and a presidential candidate, described the protests as the strongest youth movement France has experienced since May 1968.
Republicans leader Bruno Retailleau has called for changes to juvenile justice, including lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 15.
The protests remain focused on education conditions, but the growing number of injuries, arrests and clashes has widened the political debate over policing, juvenile justice and the government's response.
Source:AA
