Education

France Protests: High School Classes Canceled, Stun Grenade Use Halted

Are students rightly protesting crumbling schools and teacher cuts or are teenagers being used as street muscle by a far-left machine?

Published 3 days ago

France Protests: High School Classes Canceled, Stun Grenade Use Halted

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Above: A police presence at the scene as students take to the streets to protest education conditions in Nancy, France, on Oct. 7. Image credit: Said Tako/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

Kids shouldn't have to learn under leaking roofs, with rats in the cafeteria and without a teacher for months. Cutting permanent teaching posts while schools literally crumble is an insult to a generation that already lost years to the pandemic. When teenagers get gassed, maimed and locked up for demanding a functioning classroom, the shame belongs to the government, not the students.

Mario Nawfal on X

Jean-Luc Mélenchon on X

Manon Aubry on X

Narrative B

Torching fire trucks, attacking staff and smashing property have nothing to do with broken toilets or crowded classrooms. Teenagers are being used as street muscle by a far-left machine more interested in toppling a government than fixing a single roof. Even stun grenades are now suspended. The only thing these riots will deliver is a bigger win for the hard right next spring.

Marine Le Pen on X

Alexandra on X

Sebastien Lecornu on X Europe1