Student-led protests over schools and living costs draw 320,000 across France for a third weekend (Nov. 1)

Hundreds of thousands of people, inspired by frustrated high school students, marched across France on Saturday in a third consecutive weekend of protests over the cost of living and the state of public education, The Associated Press reported.

The French government estimated turnout at 320,000 nationwide, including 70,000 in Paris. That was down from about 550,000 on Oct. 17 and 410,000 on Oct. 24, according to government figures cited by the AP. Organizers’ estimates are higher.

It started in the classroom

High school students launched the movement last month to protest neglected buildings, teacher shortages and a university admissions system they see as unfair to disadvantaged students, according to the AP. Labor unions, the Yellow Vest movement and others angry about living costs later joined.

Corentin Cabreux, a 21-year-old student in the Paris march, told the AP that his state-run student residence has “damp stains all along the bottom of my walls, whole sections peeling off, cockroaches everywhere, rats.”

Costumes, then tear gas

About 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed after Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned of a “very high risk” of disorder, especially after dark on Halloween. Paris marches were rerouted along boulevards on the city’s outskirts, away from the center, the AP and The Guardian reported.

For hours the Paris march was festive, with techno music and some marchers trick-or-treating in costume. As it ended near Porte de Charenton, groups on the margins threw bottles, fireworks and paving stones at police, who answered with tear gas and stun grenades. Clashes were also reported in Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse and other cities.

The interior ministry said police had arrested 565 people across the country by late Saturday, and four police officers and one gendarme were injured in Paris, according to The Guardian. Paris police also barred entry to Place de la République and Les Halles from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Across Europe

In Germany, a youth initiative called “Gen Z regelt,” roughly “Gen Z’s got this,” rallied in more than 30 cities “for education, health, climate protection and an affordable life,” the AP reported. “At my school, the ceiling is collapsing because of water damage, nothing is being done about it, we have a shortage of teachers, the toilets are broken,” Berlin high school student Janelle Schulz said.

Police used water cannons in Cologne and Hamburg after some protesters threw fireworks and stones. In Lisbon, thousands of people, including families with small children, peacefully protested Portugal’s housing crisis.

What’s next

Student groups vowed new high school and university blockades on Tuesday and Thursday, then plan to join a Nov. 5 demonstration called by workers and unions, Sabrine Kharbach of the student group Union Étudiante told The Guardian.