France is bracing up for major protests after organisers called for a nationwide day of action in support of students demanding more investment in education.
It comes after a week of demonstrations, which saw students blockading hundreds of schools with at least 190 students injured, and more than 5,000 people arrested.
One student had his hand blown off during a confrontation on Monday, while another was reportedly struck in the head by a tear gas grenade last week.
France’s prime minister said the government had announced measures to address their demands, but the Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL), a major organiser of the protests, said the government had offered “nothing concrete”.
The organisation called on people to join their mobilisation on Tuesday in the face of the political deadlock and what it described as unprecedented repression of the movement”.
Some other organisations have also shown their support for the students, with the teachers’ union urging its members to join Tuesday’s protest.
The radical-lef LFI party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has described the protests as the “most powerful high school and university student youth movement” since 1968 – a year of major unrest, which saw millions of workers go on strike.
Oni Kayode Philips
- Oni Kayode Philips
- Oni Kayode Philips
- Oni Kayode Philips
- Oni Kayode Philips
