PARIS: Students blockaded dozens of high schools and universities across France to maintain pressure on the government over education reforms as trade unions prepared for a nationwide strike. After returning from a two-week autumn break, some students resumed their protest campaign on Monday, calling on authorities to renovate dilapidated schools, reduce class sizes and create more university places.
Authorities said on Tuesday that 48 out of France's 3,700 high schools were blocked amid tight security, including in Paris, Rennes, and Lyon. The USL student union said 500 establishments were blocked. Fifty-one higher education institutions out of 184 were also disrupted, officials said. The USL union denounced what it called heavy-handed tactics, with "young people pinned against walls and riot police units deployed" outside schools.
A union representative said authorities appeared to want to blunt a new day of blockades on Thursday when trade unions have called a nationwide strike. In the northwestern city of Rennes, around 30 students blocked the Brequigny High School, one of the country's largest secondary schools with thousands of students. In eastern Paris, many teachers at the Voltaire School showed solidarity with students by going on strike to protest what they called a "massive" police presence outside. — AFP
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