Unions say 480,000 people joined protests in France — France 24
On October 13, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in France in support of high school student protests. According to France 24, the country's Interior Ministry counted 161,500 participants nationwide, while trade unions that helped organize the rallies said 480,000 people took part.
According to the Interior Ministry, this was more than double the number of participants in the previous nationwide demonstrations held last Thursday. At the time, the ministry reported 71,500 protesters.
Rallies in Paris and other cities
In Paris, where two marches took place, the Interior Ministry said there were 41,500 participants. Demonstrations were also held in Nantes, Lyon, Lens, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Marseille. University students, teachers and trade union activists joined the participants. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg attended a rally in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
Most protests were peaceful, but violent incidents occurred near one of the marches in Paris. AFP journalists saw cars set on fire; police used tear gas when masked young people attempted to build barricades and threw objects. Tear gas was also used during a demonstration in Lyon.
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Students' demands and complaints about police actions
The student movement emerged last month, when high school students blocked school entrances, demanding better learning conditions. Their grievances include a lack of teachers, neglected buildings, overloaded schedules and other problems. The students rejected the government's promise to send 3,000 replacement teachers to the 114 most affected schools.
France's Education Ministry reported that 214 educational institutions, mostly lycées, were closed on Tuesday. The student union l'Union Etudiante said that 90% of universities across the country had closed in solidarity.
Participants also spoke out against what they consider excessively harsh police actions. Police launched internal investigations into 34 complaints of violence against demonstrators. At the same time, the Education Ministry reported 147 injured education sector employees during the protests.
