Hundreds of French schools close as student protests turn violent
publishers 28articles 34first reported 28 Sep, 21:46 UTCdeveloping since 29 Sep · 11 editions
About 400 schools and other educational institutions in France were expected to remain closed on Friday after nationwide student protests over education conditions turned violent in some cities.
The demonstrations began in the Paris region before spreading across the country. Students have cited teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, long hours, deteriorating buildings and inadequate heating or cooling among their grievances. Police said about 900 demonstrations, blockades and related incidents were taking place outside high schools, while access was also blocked at roughly 30 university campuses.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened a crisis cabinet meeting on Thursday, and Education Minister Édouard Geffray was due to meet student representatives on Friday. The government said violence was making it difficult to maintain classes safely, prompting closures and plans for some schools to move lessons online.
Fires were set at schools and rubbish bins, while clashes and vandalism were reported in cities including Nantes, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Lille and Marseille. More than 300 police officers and dozens of firefighters, teachers and pupils have been injured, The Guardian reported.
Arrest totals varied. NBC News reported that Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said about 2,000 people had been arrested since the protests began. The Guardian, citing the Interior Ministry, reported nearly 3,000 student detentions, including 1,949 on Thursday. Authorities have opened an internal police investigation following allegations that officers used excessive force against three pupils.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 2 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 42 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 28
- Source articles
- 34
- Given to the writer
- 8, 2 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 42 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →