‘We’re short of resources’: France’s student protesters, in their own words

French students and teachers protesting school conditions spoke with Al Jazeera about their demands.

Theo, a 19-year-old student, said people are rallying to secure more resources for schools [Phineas Rueckert/Al Jazeera]

Paris, France – At least 250,000 students, teachers and parents protested across France on Tuesday , supported by trade unions and rights groups.

The demonstrations have grown since students began blockading the entrances to their high schools on September 17, starting in the Paris suburb of Creteil. The movement quickly spread throughout the city’s suburbs, with high schoolers protesting against conditions, lamenting dilapidated buildings, shortages of teachers and staff and overcrowded classrooms.

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The blockades were met by a muscular police response, with riot police sent to break up the student protests.

More than 6,000 protesters have been arrested, 85 percent of them aged under 18. At least 10 investigations into police misconduct have been opened by France’s police watchdog IGPN.

On October 2, France’s Education Minister Edouard Geffray met with student leaders and the government announced a five-point plan to reform the public education system – an olive branch students agreed was insufficient to address the crisis.

Some 210 teenagers – including one who lost a hand – and 715 police officers have been wounded, according to officials.

Anne Savinel-Barras, president of Amnesty International France, called on authorities to “avoid unnecessary and excessive use of force”.

“Footage and testimonies widely reported over the last week raise alarming concerns about the dangerous use of tear gas, batons and restraint techniques by police. Tear gas grenades have been discharged recklessly, and rubber bullets have been fired causing serious injuries.”

Al Jazeera spoke to several protesters about their demands:

‘Macron’s government has to stop investing only in war’

Theo, 19, student : “This is my first demonstration. I’m here in solidarity with the high schoolers, after this week of blockades and police oppression. I’m also here for other demands: for universities, for more resources for schools, and not just schools but hospitals too. We’re really short of resources.

“Macron’s government has to stop investing only in war. We’re fed up. That’s why we’re all here together in this movement of solidarity, young and old. We all have the same demands: a better future.”

‘Teachers are absent, and compared with schools in Paris we don’t have the same resources’

Olympe, 16, high school student : “We blockaded our school all week to demand our rights and to denounce what’s happening in our schools. Teachers are absent, and compared with schools in Paris we don’t have the same resources. We’re given less money, and we don’t have the same privileges.”

Rania, 15, high school student: “We don’t feel listened to at all. We feel inferior, especially considering that we’re the future. So when no one listens to us, we do all this, but in the end will it really change anything? We don’t know.”

Maissene, student : “We came to support our classmates, simply because if they’re blockading, we blockade too. It’s a general movement, and they can’t do it on their own.”

‘We came to defend our youth’

From left: Raphael and Rose, 17 and 16-year-old students at Lycee Colbert in Paris [Phineas Rueckert/Al Jazeera]

Raphael, 17, high school student : “We came to defend our youth. Because we’re young, the state doesn’t listen to us. They think we have no political awareness and don’t know what we’re defending. We’re here to show the opposite: we know exactly what we’re defending. We know our values.”

Rose, 16, high school student: “If nothing changes, we’ll keep going for much longer. On October 17, there will be a big demonstration, with high schoolers, students and farmers. So it’ll be a bit like a new revolution.”

‘More resources, more teachers, better teaching conditions’

Clemence, a teacher, attended demonstrations in solidarity with her students [Phineas Rueckert/Al Jazeera]

Clemence, 30, maths teacher in Paris : “I support the high schoolers’ movement 100%. Their demands are ones we’ve been making for years. Today, we’re taking the opportunity to march alongside them. They’re asking for more resources, more teachers, better teaching conditions. We’ve been asking for this for years, because the state badly neglects it … You saw how the heatwave was handled: our classrooms were between 35 and 40°C. It’s unacceptable.”

‘You can feel a lot of anger’

Fashion student Clara said students have complained for years and feel unheard [Phineas Rueckert/Al Jazeera]

Clara, 20, fashion student: “I’m here first of all in support of the high schoolers who started this strike in the 93 [Seine-Saint-Denis]. It’s where I live, and I know these schools. They have always lived and worked in unacceptable conditions. Their demands are legitimate, and they have a right to be heard and listened to.

“So far I think the atmosphere is rather good. You can see everyone is mobilised, proud and happy to be here. But you can also feel a lot of anger, because for once we want our demands to be heard, and we want people to listen to this youth that has been complaining for several years.”

‘We were peaceful, and they chose violence’

Paris students Tim and Tina, 20, were among the tens of thousands protesting [Phineas Rueckert/Al Jazeera]

Tina, a 20-year-old student: “Yesterday we had a general assembly at our university, and the police and riot police were called in by our own administration. We said that was unacceptable. They started blocking our university, blocking our ideals of defending the high schoolers and the current cause. We don’t find that normal, so we came to demonstrate with them today to show our support. In the end there were no classes. We hadn’t finished expressing ourselves. We were peaceful, and they chose violence.”

法国学生和教师抗议学校环境，并向半岛电视台表达了他们的诉求。

19岁的学生西奥表示，人们正在积极争取为学校争取更多资源。[菲尼亚斯·鲁克特/半岛电视台]

法国巴黎——周二，至少有 25 万名学生、教师和家长在法国各地举行抗议活动，得到了工会和人权组织的支持。

自9月17日学生开始封锁高中校门以来，示威活动规模不断扩大，最初始于巴黎郊区克雷泰伊。这场运动迅速蔓延至整个巴黎郊区，高中生们抗议学校环境恶劣，痛斥校舍破旧、师资短缺和教室拥挤不堪。

法国因抗议者与警方发生冲突而暂停高中课程（共3条，第1条）

法国抗议活动（共3起）之二：学校面临全国性行动，我们目前了解的情况

图3（共3张）：法国学校遭到封锁，街头抗议活动持续不断。

警方对封锁行动采取了强硬措施，出动防暴警察驱散学生抗议活动。

已有超过6000名抗议者被捕，其中85%的人未满18岁。法国警察监督机构IGPN已对至少10起警察不当行为展开调查。

10 月 2 日，法国教育部长爱德华·热弗雷会见了学生领袖，政府宣布了一项五点计划来改革公共教育系统——学生们一致认为，这束橄榄枝不足以解决危机。

据官方消息，约有 210 名青少年（其中一人失去了一只手）和 715 名警察受伤。

法国国际特赦组织主席安妮·萨维内尔-巴拉斯呼吁当局“避免不必要和过度使用武力”。

“过去一周广泛报道的视频和证词引发了人们对警方危险使用催泪瓦斯、警棍和约束手段的担忧。催泪瓦斯弹被肆意发射，橡皮子弹也被发射，造成严重伤亡。”

半岛电视台采访了几位抗议者，了解他们的诉求：

“马克龙政府必须停止只投资于战争。”

19岁的学生西奥说：“这是我第一次参加示威游行。我来这里是为了声援高中生们，此前一周他们一直被封锁，警察也一直在镇压他们。我来这里还有其他诉求：争取更多大学资源，争取更多学校资源，不仅是学校，还有医院。我们真的太缺资源了。”

“马克龙政府必须停止只投资战争。我们受够了。这就是为什么我们所有人，无论老少，都聚集在这里，参与这场团结运动。我们有着相同的诉求：一个更美好的未来。”

“教师缺勤，而且与巴黎的学校相比，我们的资源也不够丰富。”

16岁的高中生奥林普说：“我们封锁学校整整一周，是为了争取我们的权利，并谴责学校里正在发生的事情。老师们都缺勤了，而且与巴黎的学校相比，我们学校的资源匮乏。我们得到的经费更少，也没有同样的特权。”

15岁的高中生拉尼亚说：“我们感觉自己的声音完全不被听见。我们感到自卑，尤其考虑到我们代表着未来。所以当没有人听我们说话的时候，我们做了这么多，但最终真的能改变什么吗？我们不知道。”

学生梅森说：“我们来支持我们的同学，因为他们封锁道路，我们也封锁道路。这是一场全民运动，他们单凭一己之力是做不到的。”

“我们来是为了捍卫我们的青年”

从左至右：拉斐尔和罗斯，分别是巴黎科尔伯特中学的17岁和16岁学生。[菲尼亚斯·鲁克特/半岛电视台]

17岁的高中生拉斐尔说：“我们来这里是为了捍卫我们的青年。因为我们年轻，所以政府不听我们的声音。他们认为我们没有政治意识，不知道自己在捍卫什么。我们来这里就是要证明恰恰相反：我们非常清楚自己在捍卫什么。我们明白自己的价值观。”

16岁的高中生罗斯说：“如果情况没有改变，我们会继续抗议下去。10月17日，我们将举行一场大型示威游行，高中生、大学生和农民都会参加。这有点像一场新的革命。”

“更多资源、更多教师、更好的教学条件”

教师克莱门斯参加了声援学生的示威活动。[菲尼亚斯·鲁克特/半岛电视台]

30岁的克莱蒙斯是巴黎的一位数学老师：“我百分之百支持高中生的运动。他们的诉求正是我们多年来一直提出的。今天，我们借此机会与他们并肩游行。他们要求更多的资源、更多的教师、更好的教学条件。我们多年来一直在呼吁这些，因为政府严重忽视了这一点……你们也看到了，政府是如何应对热浪的：我们的教室温度高达35到40摄氏度。这简直令人无法接受。”

“你能感受到强烈的愤怒”

时尚专业的学生克拉拉表示，学生们多年来一直在抱怨，但感觉自己的诉求没有得到重视。[菲尼亚斯·鲁克特/半岛电视台]

20岁的克拉拉是一名时装设计专业的学生：“我首先来这里是为了支持在塞纳-圣但尼省93区发起罢课的高中生们。我就住在这里，我了解这些学校。他们一直以来都生活在极其恶劣的环境中。他们的诉求是合理的，他们有权表达自己的意见并被倾听。”

“目前来看，气氛还不错。你可以看到每个人都积极行动起来，为能来到这里感到自豪和高兴。但你也能感受到很多人的愤怒，因为我们这一次希望我们的诉求能被听到，我们希望人们能倾听这些多年来一直在抱怨的年轻人的声音。”

“我们选择和平，他们却选择了暴力。”

巴黎学生蒂姆和蒂娜（20岁）是数万名抗议者中的一员。[菲尼亚斯·鲁克特/半岛电视台]

20岁的学生蒂娜说：“昨天我们学校召开了一次全体大会，校方竟然叫来了警察和防暴警察。我们觉得这完全不可接受。他们开始封锁校园，阻挠我们捍卫高中生权益和当前诉求的行动。我们觉得这很不正常，所以今天我们和他们一起来示威，表达我们的支持。结果，学校停课了。我们还没来得及表达我们的诉求。我们坚持和平示威，他们却选择了暴力。”