France witnesses a new day of student mobilization on Tuesday, with tens of thousands of high school students preparing to demonstrate in about thirty cities, amid tight security measures that include the deployment of around two thousand police officers and gendarmes in Paris, in the context of a protest movement characterized by violence and threatening to extend to universities. These calls came supported by unions, after weeks of confrontations that resulted in more than 5,000 detentions and 215 injuries among students, while Amnesty International urged the authorities to put an end to "excessive repression."
Tens of thousands of high school students in France are anticipating a new day of mobilization on Tuesday, amid strict security measures in response to a protest movement characterized by violence and threatening to extend to universities.
The students, who are demanding more resources for their schools, received support from unions that called on education workers to join them in the streets in Paris and about thirty other cities, in a socially tense atmosphere six months before the presidential elections.
About two thousand police officers and gendarmes will be deployed to secure the scheduled demonstration in the capital in the afternoon, after the closure of high schools and gatherings was accompanied by acts of vandalism and clashes with security forces. The movement began on September 17 in the Paris region and gradually spread before erupting on Thursday in several French cities.
Amputation of a student's hand
Although the number of incidents decreased on Monday compared to last Friday, the last hours saw a 15-year-old boy in the city of Lens in northern France sustaining an injury where his hand was amputated after he held on to a hand grenade during a demonstration. Since the start of the movement, more than 5,000 people have been detained, the vast majority of whom are minors, and 215 students have been injured according to the government.
More than 700 injuries have been recorded among security forces, and around 100 injuries among education workers.
The Ministry of the Interior announced on Monday evening that ten investigations had been opened by the General Inspectorate of the National Police, which is the oversight body for the police, since the beginning of the movement.