France’s Minister of National Education, Edouard Geffray, visited a damaged high school in Lormont, near Bordeaux, on Thursday, denouncing the vandalism as “criminal” as a wave of student protests continues to disrupt schools across the country.
Minister Visits Damaged School in Gironde
Speaking at Les Iris high school in Lormont, where the interior ministry had earlier reported “violent intrusions,” Geffray condemned the damage caused during the student mobilization. According to local media, students and teachers who attempted to approach the minister were held back by a police cordon.
Third Meeting with Student Organizations
The minister is scheduled to meet with student organizations at the education ministry at 5:30 p.m. in Paris. It marks the third such meeting since protests began several weeks ago.
“We expect concrete things on Parcoursup, school buildings, and timetables,” said Pierre Sourzat, a representative of the student group Les Lycéens!, expressing frustration that only “crumbs” had been offered so far.
Hundreds of Schools Blocked
According to ministry figures, some 160 schools were still blocked on Wednesday morning. Since the movement began, of France’s 3,700 high schools, one-third have “never been disrupted,” one-third experienced “very moderate disruption over a very limited period,” and one-third saw “more significant disruption,” according to Geffray.
Calls to Join Saturday’s Demonstration
After another day of mobilization on Tuesday that drew between 161,000 and 480,000 people, youth organizations are calling on supporters to join the “gilets jaunes” (yellow vests) demonstration against the high cost of living planned for Saturday.
“The movement is intensifying, there is a real convergence and we welcome it,” said Ryad Rani, president of the Union syndicale des lycéens.
Protests Extend to Elite Institutions
The movement has spread beyond high schools. Students at HEC, one of France’s most prestigious business schools, staged a blockade with placards in support of the high school movement. About 20 students gathered in front of the school, according to the prefecture and a student present.
“It will continue through the morning,” one student told AFP, “but we don’t plan to stay all day.”
Students at the Ensatt theater school in Lyon also blocked their institution for the first time. According to local newspaper Le Progrès, thirteen high schools and three universities are blocked in the Lyon region.
Incidents Reported Near Lyon
Incidents were reported in Bron, near Lyon, where students were arrested after firing mortars near their school, according to local media.
Scattered but Persistent Mobilization
In Vendée, only one high school continued its blockade, partially: Pierre Mendès-France in La Roche-sur-Yon. “We wanted to make a statement one last time before the holidays. Our school is the only one still going today, we’re like the last Gaulish village,” a student told Ouest-France.
At Louis-Bascan public high school in Rambouillet, classes proceeded normally, with students expressing little appetite for protest. “It wasn’t worth it, we gave up. We weren’t going to blockade with just three people,” said Amir and Lucas, both in their first year.
Political Reactions
Marion Maréchal, a supporter of Marine Le Pen, claimed that “less than 3%” of high school and university students are mobilizing. While the calculation method is debatable, even by that measure, the movement ranks alongside protests against pension reform and agricultural demonstrations.
Former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, speaking on franceinfo, defended the need for systemic change: “We cannot keep a school system where students slip from class to class… that’s why when I was minister I reinstated grade repetition, which had practically disappeared.” He advocated that a student who cannot read by the end of primary school should not advance to secondary school.
