Paris (Monitoring Desk) — Clashes broke out between protesters and police during student demonstrations in France against the state of the education system and the lack of facilities in schools, resulting in 1,747 people being arrested.
The protests affected 735 schools across the country in one way or another, while incidents of fires were also reported on roads and near schools at various locations.
Students are protesting against a shortage of teachers, overcrowded classrooms, dilapidated school buildings, long working hours and staff absenteeism.
According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, police officers, teachers, journalists and passersby were also targeted during the protests. Police, meanwhile, used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray said that 735 of the country’s 3,700 schools had been affected by the protests. According to him, the government will take measures to immediately appoint new teachers to replace absent teachers and to make students’ voices more effective in the education system.
The protests began in the Paris region and have spread to other cities across the country. Student organizations have called for further government measures and announced that demonstrations will continue in the future.
Parents and education authorities have expressed concern about the safety of students, teachers and other people during the protests.