Get you up to speed: Schoolkids ‘storm the Bastille’ again as they take over Paris square | News World
Riot police clashed with thousands of schoolchildren in Bastille Square, Paris, amid protests against under-resourced schools. Officers attempted to disperse the crowd using batons and water cannons.
Riot police have faced significant criticism for their response to protests, with reports of injuries among students, including a 15-year-old who had his hand injured by a stun grenade. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has highlighted that underfunding in education threatens social mobility in France, as children from deprived backgrounds have diminished chances of escaping their circumstances.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon expressed support for the youth protests, stating, “Powerful demonstration by the youth who carry their demands in the most beautiful way possible,” and called for further action on October 13. Anouk Vandecasteele, an English teacher, condemned the police response, emphasising the unacceptable nature of injuries sustained by students during demonstrations and urging the government to heed their demands.
What remains unclear — It is not specified how many injuries were sustained by protesters during the clashes with riot police.
Riot police clash with schoolchildren during protest at Bastille Square in Paris
Riot police clashed with protesters as they took over the Bastille Square in Paris.
Officers charged the thousands of schoolchildren with batons and unleashed water cannons as they moved in to try and clear out the square.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a candidate for La France insoumise for the 2027 Presidential election said: ‘The Bastille has been retaken.
‘Powerful demonstration by the youth who carry their demands in the most beautiful way possible. Immense pride. See you on Tuesday, October 13, at the call of the youth unions and workers.’
Students scuffle with riot police during a protest against under-resourced schools in Paris. (Picture: AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)
The Storming of the Bastille took place on 14 July 1789 in Paris and is one of the key events of the French Revolution.
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The Bastille was a medieval fortress and prison that had become a symbol of the absolute power of King Louis XVI.
Anouk said violent protest is a ‘small percentage’ of what’s happening in France (Picture: Reuters)
One schoolboy warned that it was ‘normal’ if violent outbursts occurred, if students’ demands were ‘not be heard’.
‘All the revolutions in history have served a purpose, he told EuroNews.
‘In 1789, there were a lot of deaths. We don’t want to have deaths, but we could revert to violence as a means of expression. The goal is not to perpetrate violence to hurt people, but it’s to use violence to change the system that harms us’.
Anouk Vandecasteele, an English teacher at a school in Lille, is one of the many educators to have joined the growing student protests.
‘There is definitely a form of police brutality which has been previously unseen because it has not been directed towards young people before,’ she told WTX.
‘The fact that today they are injuring kids is unacceptable. That’s one of the reasons why we are there.’
Earlier this week, at a 250-strong protest in nearby Lens, a 15-year-old reportedly had his hand ‘blown off’ when a stun grenade thrown by riot police detonated after he picked it up.
Anouk has also heard reports of students losing eyes and of a 14-year-old who lost teeth after their jaw was broken.
She said: ‘Of course during the gilets jaunes and other strikes many activists have been wounded, but injuring kids is unheard of. It’s a bit scary.
‘People who are currently demonstrating and people who are blocking the schools are just kids. They are unarmed; they just want to be heard. It is time for the government to listen to them.’
She told WTX: ‘I’m ready for anything to make sure that my students have the same opportunities that I had. I feel outraged and at the same time I feel like I’m never going to give up and I think that’s how the students feel too. Above all I feel proud.’
Underfunding poses a serious threat to social mobility in France; a child born and schooled in a deprived neighbourhood there has less chance of escaping their socioeconomic background than in most other developed nations, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
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