Greta Thunberg Joins French School Protests as Clashes Erupt in Cities

Greta Thunberg joined protesters outside Lycée Paul Eluard in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on Tuesday as French pupils demonstrated for a fourth week over poor learning conditions.

The nationwide protest movement involves marches, blockades of hundreds of schools, and clashes with police. Pupils gathered outside several schools in Paris and other cities, while large crowds marched peacefully through Nantes, Strasbourg, and Marseille. Footage from BFM TV showed clashes between people dressed in black and riot police in Strasbourg and Nantes, with tear gas.

In Lyon, local authorities asked organizers to call off a march after a group of hostile individuals vandalized shops and a petrol station and clashed with police. The education ministry reported 214 schools closed, down from 800 a week ago. The interior ministry stated over 161,000 people took to the streets across France, down from 266,000 on a similar protest day a week ago.

Unions, however, reported 460,000 participants across France, including between 56,000 and 100,000 in Paris. Protesters are demanding more teachers, more resources, and repairs to crumbling school buildings, citing issues like overcrowded classrooms, dilapidated facilities, and long school days. Students are calling for a €10 billion increase in investment for lycées. Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced 3,000 supply teachers would be deployed to over 500 priority schools by Tuesday, but only 35% of the target was achieved.