The French government has offered 3,000 additional supply teachers in response to ongoing protests by high-school students demanding more educational resources. Since the protests began three weeks ago, 6,877 people have been arrested, with 86% under age 18. On Thursday, about 71,000 protesters demonstrated across France, leading to clashes and school closures in several cities. Minister Edouard Geffray announced new software that will direct these teachers to schools most in need, but student leaders remain skeptical without substantial financial commitments.
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The French government has pledged 3,000 extra supply teachers in response to student protests demanding more educational resources. The promise came from Education Minister Edouard Geffray after nearly three weeks of demonstrations by high school students across France. Since the protests began, 6,877 people, 86% under age 18, have been arrested. On Thursday alone, around 71,000 protesters staged events nationwide, with 24,000 gathering in Paris at the Bastille.
The unrest included violence like ransacking a high school in Bordeaux and beating up a deputy headmaster in Marseille. While some schools were closed on Friday, another protest has been called for Tuesday. The minister's announcement represents the first tangible concession to student demands following Act Four of the movement.
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- Published
The French government has made its first sign of giving ground to teenage protesters, with a promise of 3,000 extra supply teachers in the coming days.
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government → publish → days
Education minister Edouard Geffray made the offer in a television interview on Thursday evening, at the end of another day of sometimes violent demonstrations by high-school students.
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Geffray → make → students
The government says 6,877 people have been arrested, 86% of whom are under the age of 18, since protests began centred around demands for more resources in secondary education.
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protests → say → education
In what unions have billed as Act Four of the three-week movement, some 71,000 people staged protests across the country on Thursday, with 24,000 gathering at the Bastille in Paris.
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24,000 → bill → Paris
Police once again intervened with tear-gas to disperse groups who attacked them with paving stones and homemade fireworks.
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who → intervene → stones
In Bordeaux, a lycée, or high school, was ransacked by protesters, and in Marseille a deputy-head was beaten up.
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head → ransack → Marseille
On Friday, some 140 lycées - out of 3,500 - were totally or partially closed, a big drop on previous days.
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lycées → close → days
But another day of action has been called for next Tuesday.
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day → call → Tuesday
It has long been recognised by all concerned in French education that too many school hours are being lost because of absent teachers and their non-replacement by available supply staff.
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hours → recognise → staff
The minister said that thanks to new software coming online at the ministry, it would be possible to direct 3,000 supply teachers to the 500 or so lycées identified as being in the greatest need.
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it → say → need
Geffray also said that more money would be made available under an already existing scheme for those teachers who want to work overtime hours in order to plug gaps.
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who → say → gaps
And he promised that students' grievances would be taken into account in forthcoming discussions on the education section of the 2027 state budget.
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grievances → promise → budget
But the offer contained no major promise of new investment on a scale likely to appease protesters.
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offer → contain → protesters
The government is wary of appearing to buy social peace because it knows France's precarious debt situation is being followed closely by international money markets.
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situation → appear → markets
Reaction from student leaders has been guarded to say the least.
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Reaction → say → least
Nathanaël Combary, who represents the most moderate of the three main lycée unions Renouveau Lycéen (Lycée Renewal), said students were waiting to see how the promise was carried out in practice: "We've had some announcements which correspond to part of our demands.
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which → represent → demands
But obviously people want to see the money and more concrete results."
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people → want → money
"As long as we do not have €10bn on the table, we will continue our action," said Sabrine Kharbach of the Union Etudiante (Student Union), which is close to the radical-left France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party of presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
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which → have → Mélenchon
Mélenchon praised Thursday's demonstrations, saying on X that the students had "retaken the Bastille".
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students → praise → Bastille
But at the other end of the political spectrum, a spokesman for the hard-right National Rally (RN) condemned the government's concessions.
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spokesman → condemn → concessions
"The message is: if you break things, you get given stuff," said Laurent Jacobelli.
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Jacobelli → break → stuff
"When you burn cars, attack police, you gain something in return.
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you → burn → return
The movement is the most serious student unrest in France in many years, and comes against a backdrop of rising tension in the country - with anger over rising fuel prices and distress in the farming sector also liable to trigger protests.
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anger → come → protests
Next Saturday, 17 October, has been earmarked as a day of demonstrations by a revived "yellow vest" movement.
In addition, the approach of presidential elections in April and May - in which both hard right and hard left are expected to perform strongly - is exacerbating the mood of confrontation.
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right → earmark → confrontation
The government is hoping that the approach of half-term holidays at the end of next week - as well as the arrival of colder and wetter weather - will take some of the sting out of the protests.
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approach → hop → protests
The Aporia
