Since late September students across France have been holding protests against underfunding in education, and have been blocking access to many high schools.
The movement has turned violent in places – hundreds of students, teachers and police officers have been injured. Thousands of people – including an unknown number of outside troublemakers – have been arrested.
The protesters are complaining about staff shortages and dilapidated facilities in the country’s lycées, schools which are attended by 15-18-year-olds.
“Sometimes our teachers are absent for several weeks without being replaced,” Madalena, a Paris student, told the BBC on Tuesday as demonstrations brought out hundreds of thousands across France. Her school buildings, she added, were “boiling hot” during the recent heat waves.
There is a variety of other complaints. Some resent the banning of mobile phones or school days that last until 18:00. “You get home at 7 pm, and have no time to sleep or do your homework,” one lycéen told France 2.
France’s online platform that allocates places in higher education, Parcoursup, is another sore point.
The frustration has deep roots. About 80% of each cohort now passes the baccalauréat, which entitles students to a university place – though not necessarily their preferred choice. This leads to a scramble for desirable courses, and an anxiety focused on Parcoursup, which many regard as opaque.
