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More than 100 education staff have been injured since nationwide high school protests began in France, Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on Friday, as students continued blockades over learning conditions.
“Unfortunately, yesterday brought us past the 100 mark for injured staff,” Geffray told reporters after meeting students and teachers at a high school in Cachan, near Paris, according to Le Parisien.
He condemned what he called “unspeakable violence” and praised staff members who had protected students and school buildings.
A previous tally cited by the newspaper recorded injuries to 215 students and nearly 800 police officers and gendarmes since the protest movement began.
About 71,500 people demonstrated across France on Thursday, including 24,500 in Paris, according to Interior Ministry figures. Authorities reported 504 arrests and 48 police officers and gendarmes injured during that day’s demonstrations.
Students are protesting teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate facilities and school schedules.
Geffray said 3,024 substitute teachers were being contacted for deployment, with assignments expected later on Friday or early next week. The government is also recruiting additional contract teachers.
Student organisations have called for another day of demonstrations on Oct. 13. Some representatives are seeking a meeting with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
Blockades continued on Friday in cities including Paris, Rennes and Strasbourg. Classes were cancelled at the Lamartine school complex in Paris and during the morning at Pantheon-Assas University.
Separately, Paris prosecutors opened an investigation after a video circulated that appeared to show a police officer kneeing a demonstrator in the face.
The case brings to five the number of investigations referred by prosecutors to the national police inspectorate, IGPN, in Paris over alleged police violence linked to the protests. The nationwide figure has exceeded 21.
CFDT union leader Marylise Leon welcomed the planned teacher deployments as a first step, but said students’ broader demands remained unresolved. She also questioned whether the police response was proportionate.
