Police Fire Tear Gas at Paris Students after PM’s Speech

Police fired tear gas at a barricaded high school in northeastern Paris on Thursday as France’s student protest movement went into what organizers call “Act IV.”

The clashes came the morning after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu gave a televised address in which he took a softer tone toward the protesters but did not agree to their main demands. Hundreds of schools were disrupted Thursday. The Education Ministry said 375 were fully or partially closed, fewer than on Tuesday. The Interior Ministry said police have made more than 6,600 arrests since the movement began in late September.

The protests started at a Paris-region high school in mid-September and have grown into a national movement over school funding. On Tuesday, the Interior Ministry estimated that 266,000 people marched across France, including 56,000 in Paris. Nearly 500 people were detained that day.

Macron urges restraint

President Emmanuel Macron had spent several days pressing his prime minister to speak publicly and show more goodwill towards the students, Le Monde reported. At a meeting at the Élysée on Tuesday evening, Macron called for “proportionate use of force”, especially when dealing with “children”, while repeating his “strong” support for law enforcement. “He asked us to do a bit more explaining to show empathy,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told RTL. On Wednesday morning, Nuñez said police would stop using stun grenades during student protests. On Monday in Lens, one of those grenades severed the hand of a 15-year-old boy. Nuñez also said police internal investigators have opened 18 inquiries into how officers acted.

Marine Le Pen, the far-right presidential candidate, objected to the decision. She said Macron “always seems to side against the police”.

A change of tone, not of policy

In a 15-minute address on Wednesday, Lecornu said the “anger of young people” did “not come out of nowhere”. He also said police “are not under orders to confront high school students”. He condemned schools being “set on fire or vandalised” and criticised “political leaders who use this anger to conduct their electoral battles”. France holds a presidential election in April.

Sébastien Lecornu turned down the students’ demands for building renovations, replacements for absent teachers and higher teacher pay. He pointed instead to a planned €1.2 billion increase that would bring the education budget to €64 billion. He promised more answers by the end of October. He also announced that France would release 10 million barrels of diesel from its strategic reserves. He said this should lower pump prices by 12 to 18 euro cents per litre.

Opposition leaders were not satisfied. “Tonight, Lecornu is incapable of announcing a single concrete measure,” said Manuel Bompard of La France Insoumise. Student unions have called for another day of protest on the 17th October. Emma Khelil, an 18-year-old protester, told the Associated Press: “We’re here to defend our rights, not to lose an eye or a hand”.