French high school students have blockaded dozens of schools and public sector workers have gone on strike, protesting planned budget cuts before next year’s presidential election.
Tuesday’s action comes seven months before the vote and just two days before the government is due to unveil its draft 2027 budget, with opinion polls consistently reflecting deep dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron and his centre-right government.
Student protests have gathered pace in recent days over overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages. The country’s Ministry of National Education said more than 330 high schools – just under one in 10 – were affected.
There were 40 arrests on Tuesday and 10 people – students and staff – were wounded. In one lycee in the Paris suburbs, teachers formed a line around protesting students in a bid to protect them from the police.
Masked pupils gathered outside the Lycee Cesar Baggio in Lille, in northern France, setting bins on fire, according to the AFP news agency.
Bus shelters and advertising billboards were vandalised, with bottles, paving stones and various objects hurled at police, who responded by firing tear gas.
In the western city of Nantes, teens piled up dozens of bins to prevent entrance to the Lycee Gabriel Guist’hau, while in Paris there was an uneasy standoff between 30 students and a contingent of police at the Arago school.
Similar clashes were also reported in cities including Marseille in the south, Bordeaux in the west and Lyon in the southeast.
Click here to read more and see the photos: Photos: French students protest, public workers strike before budget cuts | Protests News | Al Jazeera
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