Greta Thunberg joins student protests in France

Greta Thunberg joined the student protests in France with a visit to the Paul-Éluard high school in Saint-Denis, Paris's largest suburb, which was blocked by students. The mobilization, which began in late September, enters its fifth act with a national march and more than 6,800 arrests to date, most of them minors.

The Swedish activist **Greta Thunberg**, 23, appeared this morning outside the **Paul-Éluard** high school in **Saint-Denis**, Paris's largest suburb, which was blocked by students. Few words, plenty of cameras. Her appearance coincided with the fifth act of the French student revolt, which is protesting the shortage of teachers, overcrowded classes, exhausting schedules and crumbling buildings.

## A national march and protests in six cities

A national march will set off at 2:00 pm from the **Place d'Italie** to **Les Invalides**, very close to the seat of government and the Ministry of Education. Protests have also been announced in **Lyon**, **Marseille**, **Lille**, **Toulouse** and **Bordeaux**. The movement, born from the grassroots in late September at high schools in the outskirts, has been going for four weeks.

Last Thursday, more than **70,000 people** took to the streets across France, with around **500 arrests**. Since the mobilization began, according to the Ministry of Justice, more than **6,800 people** have been detained, most of them minors.

## Injuries, police investigations and school closures

The toll of casualties includes a young man who lost a hand to a police stun grenade, another who lost an eye, and another who lost teeth to a tear gas grenade fired at point-blank range. The police have peine **24 internal investigations** into alleged violence against protesters. There are injuries on the other side too: yesterday the ministry counted **eight school staff injured**, while in **Reims**, **Marseille** and the outskirts of Paris fireworks were fired at eye level. The ministry says closures are declining but violence is intensifying. Around **200 of the 3,700 high schools** are expected to close today, up from 130 yesterday.

In Saint-Denis, robed lawyers formed a human chain to protect the students. Some university professors showed up at the marches wearing white armbands to act as a buffer.

## Greta's words and the media landing

Thunberg's words, recorded on the spot, were: "Young people are not being included in the dialogue. They are stealing our future." She added that the cuts to secondary schools send young people the message that "they are not a priority for society," and sharply criticized the police for their extreme violence against young protesters.

The arrival of the Swedish activist, who already brought her school strike campaign to Paris in **2019**, raises a question about the media focus. Students have been on the streets for a month, with arrests, injuries and some mutilations. The appearance of a world-famous face could shift attention away from the concrete demands and toward the figure of the activist. Thunberg is not a secondary school student, is not French and has never lived the reality of those classrooms. She is a global activist who moves from one cause to another.

## Macron's crumbs and the students' demands

The Minister of Education, **Édouard Geffray**, promised **3,000 substitute teachers** for the **114 worst-performing high schools**. Today he says only **35%** have been assigned, while reports circulate of teachers being sent to teach subjects they are not qualified for. In addition, **an extra 1 billion euros** have been allocated to the ministry.

The student union calls these measures "crumbs." They are demanding a **ten-billion-euro** emergency plan and the abolition of **Parcoursup**, the platform that matches students with universities, which they accuse of generating inequality. They are also requesting a meeting with Prime Minister **Sébastien Lecornu**, who has yet to meet with them.

**Emmanuel Macron**, interviewed yesterday at a motor show, called for patience: "These issues deserve time, consultation, debate and respect." That from a president just months away from the election that will choose his successor.

## A conflict with deep roots and a divided society

France's high schools did not collapse overnight. Their decline is the result of decades of governments of every stripe cutting public education. Blaming only the latest occupant of the Élysée Palace would be convenient, but false.

The current mobilization has the support of the unions and of **La France Insoumise**, **Mélenchon**'s radical left. Many parents antiestéticar their children are being used as political pawns. "Blockades are inherently anti-democratic," protests a Parisian mother. "It is shameful to stop someone from studying for a movement they don't belong to," says **Clara Juillet**, a university student in **Tours** who has been off school for a week.