Police fired tear gas to control crowds in Paris and elsewhere in France on Tuesday as more than a quarter of a million people rallied nationwide to support high school students demanding more education funding, according to government figures. The protests increased pressure on the administration of outgoing President Emmanuel Macron.
As pupils blockaded high schools, large crowds waving flags and placards gathered in Marseille, Strasbourg and other cities. The demonstrations showed how protests that began at a high school in the Paris region in mid-September have grown into a nationwide movement — the latest of many that have marked Macron’s nearly decade-long tenure.
“We need to listen to them,” said Léa Monimart, an adult demonstrator in the northern city of Lille. “They are 17 years old; they are not completely clueless, and they know what they are talking about. It’s important to show that there are adults who support them.”
The Interior Ministry estimated that 266,000 people took part in demonstrations across the country on Tuesday, including 56,000 in Paris, where small groups of protesters clashed with riot officers at a city square at the end of a largely peaceful march.
Just to note that many strikes like this one have ended with the government giving in (or giving back what they took away).
2006 strikes changed a law about contracts for people under 26, the 2014 ecotax strikes, the thing in Guyana, the airport project, the yellow vest strikes, the retirement strikes, the strikes against making it illegal to film police, the farmers.
The parents present at these strikes were maybe students themselves during the 2006 strikes, so they know this. They also know that the police are using a lot more force than 20 years ago.
In any case, it’s worrying.
Hey US, you need to learn a lesson here.
I’m not against shitting on Americans, but we should probably wait until the French get something done before doing so.
Tell that to all the protestors who were maimed during the BLM protests.
You have had first protest, now how about second protest?
And also to people who can’t afford to skip work, or have no childcare, or who live 800 miles from a big city. Things are different here. Not to say we shouldn’t be organizing and activating, but it’s going to look different here.
Yes, apathy definitely makes it look different.
I mean BLM didn’t achieve all of its goals, but it was partially effective, but also nobody (AFAIK) went on strike during BLM. The French protests obviously have more juice here.
No need to learn anything if you already the best. Right, Americans?
searches
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_spending_on_education_as_percentage_of_GDP
This list shows the government spending on education of various countries and subnational areas by percentage of GDP. It does not include private expenditure on education.[1]
Country % of GDP United States 5.43 France 5.43 Canada 4.14 If you think that breaking things and yelling is a good way to increase government education spending in your country, I’d think that it’d be you who’d want to be doing that.
Canadians are the most highly educated population in the world. Try again.
“According to a 2022 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada is the most educated country in the world;[27][28] the country ranks first worldwide in the percentage of adults having tertiary education, with over 57 per cent of Canadian adults having attained at least an undergraduate college or university degree.”
Not shown: how much of that funding is funneled into for profit and/or religious schools via the intentionally corrupt “school vouchers” mechanism.
If you think that breaking things and yelling is a good way to increase government education spending in your country
When the government is continually ignoring the wants and needs of the people, yelling and breaking things is necessary.
