A teenager’s hand was blown off as high-school protesters clashed with riot police in northern France on Monday, a local official said, on the eve of a national demonstration by the pupils’ union against underfunding, overcrowding and dilapidation.
asserted
official → blow → underfunding
The regional newspaper La Voix du Nord said the 15-year-old lost his hand and part of his lower arm after picking up a police dispersal grenade that detonated in the town of Lens as the wave of school protests entered its third week.
asserted
wave → say → week
François-Xavier Lauch, prefect of Pas-de-Calais, declined to comment on the exact circumstances, saying some 200 to 250 protesters had been hurling objects at police.
asserted
protesters → decline → police
Six months before an election to replace President Emmanuel Macron, his government and the far-right National Rally, led by presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen, have accused hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) lawmakers and mayors of stoking the protests.
asserted
government → replace → protests
The LFI denies the accusation.
asserted
LFI → deny → accusation
Speaking after meeting with students in the northern Paris suburbs, Education Minister Edouard Geffray said participation in the protests had been declining in recent days.
asserted
participation → speak → days
The government would launch a platform for students to express their dissatisfaction and kick off an action plan for particular schools, he said.
asserted
he → launch → schools
French police accused of excessive force
Rights groups accuse police of using heavy-handed tactics against minors, including batons, tear gas and flash-ball guns.
asserted
groups → accuse → batons
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Among several investigations into police methods, authorities are examining the case of a 16-year-old who suffered an eye injury after police fired rubber bullets into a crowd of protesters, according to his friends.
uncertain
police → get → friends
The Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegation of using excessive force.
asserted
Ministry → respond → force
The LFI, headed by presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, denies encouraging violence and accuses the government of politicizing the issue and neglecting pupils’ interests.
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LFI → head → interests
France’s Justice Ministry said 5,060 people have been arrested since the protests began, with 87 per cent of them minors.
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cent → say → them
More than 1,800 people are being prosecuted, including 1,483 minors, the ministry said, without specifying the crimes.
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ministry → prosecute → crimes
It said 790 cases had been dismissed.
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cases → say → ?
The protests have put more pressure on a government trying to narrow a budget deficit as investor concerns about state finances grow, briefly pushing the yield on France’s 10-year bonds to a 24-year high over five per cent last week and raising the likely cost of future borrowing.
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concerns → put → borrowing
The protests began in September in Paris, focusing on poor suburbs, before spreading nationwide.
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protests → begin → suburbs
The government says they have been hijacked and morphed into urban violence.
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they → say → violence
“Our priority is to restore order,” government spokesperson Maud Bregeon told CNews television.
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Bregeon → restore → television
Some 400 to 500 high schools were closed or partially closed ahead of Tuesday’s nationwide protest.
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schools → close → protest
Two dozen schools have been burned or ransacked, 78 teaching staff have been injured in the demonstrations and at least 190 students have been injured, Geffray said.
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Geffray → burn → demonstrations
He said the goal was for classes at affected schools to restart on Wednesday.
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classes → say → Wednesday
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shock → say → economy
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prize → file → research
“We’re going to keep blocking until the government hears us,” said Sami Karen, 18, who was demonstrating outside Charles de Foucauld high school in Paris.
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who → go → Paris
“As long as they don’t listen to us, we won’t stop this fight.”
asserted
we → listen → fight
On Monday, BFMTV showed images of police and students clashing in Lille in northern France, tear gas being used in Toulouse in the southwest, and a fire being lit as people tried to break into a school in central Paris.
asserted
people → show → Paris
Carole Zerbib, head of the vandalized Lycee Vauquelin in Paris, said it had been attacked by a “very determined” group wearing hoods and masks who had tried to break through the entrance door and then lit a fire, forcing the school to be evacuated and classes suspended.
asserted
classes → vandalize → school
“It was very violent and happened very quickly,” she said, adding that she did not believe the attackers were from the school.
asserted
attackers → happen → school
Since last Monday, 5,000 people, 85 per cent of them teenagers, have been arrested and dozens injured.
asserted
dozens → arrest → them
Teachers and members of the public have been attacked, while damage to property is estimated in the millions of euros.
asserted
damage → attack → euros
Bregeon said the government would fast-track a bill on October 27 to make youngsters found to have damaged property, or their parents, financially liable.
asserted
youngsters → say → property
Security officials fear that Tuesday’s organized protests in central Paris in particular could bring further violence amid concerns that far-left and anarchist groups could try to take them over.
uncertain
groups → fear → them
Sophie Binet, head of the CGT labor union, told TF1 television on Monday that her members would attend Tuesday’s demonstrations to protect the students.
asserted
members → tell → students
“We’ve been appalled by what we have seen over the past 10 days and by the unprecedented crackdown that the government has organized,” she said.
asserted
she → appal → that
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