Thunberg Joins France's School Protests: What the Numbers Show

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined demonstrating high school students in France on Tuesday, as nationwide protests over school conditions entered their third week. She appeared outside the Paul Eluard high school in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, a center of the movement, according to Al Jazeera and The Guardian.

The unrest is putting pressure on a government that faces demands for urgent public investment and calls to cut the country's deficit and debt, The Guardian reported. Thunberg, 23, told reporters that young people were not being included in the conversation and that schools were not getting the investment they need. She said, "Our future is being stolen from us."

The key numbers behind the protests

• More than 260,000: the number of marchers across the country last Tuesday, according to interior ministry figures cited by The Guardian.
• 75,000 or more than 70,000: turnout on Thursday. The Guardian, citing the interior ministry, reported 75,000, while Al Jazeera said more than 70,000 people took to the streets.
• More than 6,800: people taken into police custody, mainly minors, according to the Ministry of Justice. The justice ministry has also said about 1,500 people are being prosecuted, The Guardian reported.
• 24: allegations of police brutality against demonstrators that are under investigation.
• About 200 of 3,700: the number of high schools Education Minister Edouard Geffray said would be completely closed on Tuesday. Al Jazeera noted he described this as fewer than last week.
• 3,000: substitute teachers the minister says are being deployed to schools with the most severe staff shortages, according to The Guardian.

What is driving the movement

The protests began late last month. Students are demanding improvements to school buildings, more teachers, less crowded classes and fixes to other problems in the education system, according to Al Jazeera. Students have piled up bins and set up security barriers outside hundreds of schools. The Guardian described the grievances as chronic teacher shortages, overcrowded classes and crumbling buildings.

Tuesday's demonstrations are backed by unions and the left-wing opposition party France Unbowed. They were expected to include a march in Paris and marches in other cities. The university students' union said on X that since officials were not listening to students, students were going to them.

Police conduct and injuries

Lawyers in robes formed a human chain to shield teenagers after numerous accusations of police brutality. The Guardian reported that more than 200 teenagers, 100 school staff and 700 police officers have been injured. It said one young protester lost a hand to a police stun grenade, which led the government to ban their use during the protests. Another protester lost the use of an eye, and a third lost many teeth to a tear gas canister fired at close range, the paper said.

Rights groups and students have accused police of disproportionate force, The Guardian reported. France's Ministry of National Education said eight teaching staff were injured on Monday, mostly in the Paris region, Bordeaux and Lyon, according to Al Jazeera.

Why it matters for families and the political landscape

For students and parents, the most immediate effect is disruption. The Guardian said French media have reported canceled or disrupted classes in many more schools than those fully closed, and that some high schools, which serve pupils mostly aged 15 to 18, have moved wholly or partly online. Geffray said some schools near protest routes were closing to avoid damage, according to Al Jazeera.

The protests also carry political weight. The Guardian reported that a presidential election to replace Emmanuel Macron is six months away, and rival politicians are trying to use the movement. Far-right frontrunner Marine Le Pen has pointed to damage to schools and called for parents to cover repair bills. Her radical-left opponent, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has praised the protesters and denounced police brutality, the paper said.

Macron urged restraint on Monday, saying the issues deserve "time, consultations, discussion and respect," according to both outlets.

What happens next

Al Jazeera reported that wider public rallies against the rising cost of living are expected on Saturday. The Guardian said authorities had hoped the protests would ease during the two-week half-term school holidays, which are due to start this weekend.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Al Jazeera, The Guardian