School protests in France: Police fire tear gas into crowds as tens of thousands join school protests

Mark Lowen
Report from Marseille

Joanna is a university student, but she attended a high school in the Paris suburbs, where the student protests began.

When asked why she is participating in demonstrations today, she replies: “We are demonstrating for better learning conditions for our students, our high school students.”

Joanna says there is a shortage of teachers and a shortage of replacements for sick teachers, and so “we don’t have enough teachers to learn.”

Regarding conditions inside her high school, she recalls an incident where a roof collapsed on some students and says there were also “a lot of flooding” and rats, while some students didn’t eat because meals were too expensive.

Joanna describes the police response to protesters as “really violent and very aggressive,” adding that it is “really escalating.”

“The police become violent and people respond with violence.”

She claims that high school students throw things on fire, but says that “if they don’t, they aren’t heard” and that “students don’t hurt people, they hurt things.”