Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined a protest outside a high school in Paris on Tuesday, as French students took to the streets for another day of demonstrations over poor school conditions.
We are inspired by the young people who are demanding their basic rights,” she told reporters outside Lycée Paul Éluard in Saint-Denis, a suburb north of Paris where the protest movement first gained momentum. “Whether it’s not funding schools enough, or the climate crisis, or social injustice crises … it’s about time that young people are stepping up and reclaiming that future,” she added. Thunberg, who first rose to prominence as a teenager campaigning against climate change and has since expanded her activism to other causes, expressed support for the French students, saying they deserved “wider support. “They should know that all over the world we are following these developments.
Because the schools were located along planned protest routes, education minister Édouard Geffray told France Inter radio that around 200 schools were closed, although he noted that some closures were precautionary. The French government suspended the use of stun grenades last week after a teenager lost a hand in one of the incidents.
Thunberg also criticised the police response to the demonstrations, describing it as “extremely violent” and accusing authorities of defending the status quo while “ignoring” young people’s demands. Riot police have used tear gas and charged at protesters in several incidents, leaving hundreds injured and thousands arrested. French students have been protesting for four weeks over deteriorating school conditions, including teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and poorly maintained facilities. The nationwide movement has involved marches, blockades at hundreds of schools and, in some cases, clashes with police. The demonstrations have added to the political uncertainty facing President Emmanuel Macron’s government, with a presidential election six months away. The election could potentially bring Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally to power, which would mark a historic shift in French politics. The government has pledged to address students’ concerns but faces financial constraints. Rising concerns over France’s national debt and budget deficit have pushed borrowing costs to their highest levels in years, limiting the government’s room to increase education spending. (With Reuters inputs) You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.