The Interior Ministry counted at least 256,000 demonstrators on Tuesday, with 488 arrests that day, and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu suspended high-school classes from Wednesday through Friday.
At least 256,000 people marched across France on Tuesday in support of high-school students who have blocked schools since mid-September to demand more education funding, the Interior Ministry told Xinhua. The ministry put the Paris crowd at 56,000. Student organisations estimated 450,000 nationwide and 100,000 in the capital.
The Interior Ministry said 488 people were arrested on Tuesday amid violence on the edges of the marches, taking arrests since the movement began to 6,547. The Education Ministry said 891 of about 3,700 high schools were disrupted. CNBC, citing the same ministry, later put the national turnout at 266,000.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said classes in high schools would be suspended from Wednesday through Friday for a period of internal debate with students. On X, he said the government could not condemn violence without also giving space for argument inside schools.
Lecornu told lawmakers that 215 teenagers and 85 school staff had been injured, and his office said more than 700 police officers had been hurt, CNBC reported. He called the student and staff injuries the heaviest toll the school system had paid in decades.
The marches began in the Paris region in September over crowded classes, building conditions and teacher shortages, and widened after students were injured in clashes. A government briefing at the Elysee was expected on Tuesday evening, Xinhua said, citing French press.
People Sentiments Negative
- Lecornu said the government cannot condemn violence without also giving full space to debate inside high schools.
- Organisers estimated a larger crowd than the Interior Ministry tally.