Greta Thunberg joins French student education protests

Summarised from 3 outlets · 4 reports · Updated 13 Oct, 11:15 · Archive

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has joined French student protests demanding better school conditions and teacher recruitment.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has joined French student protests, arriving at Paul Éluard high school in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Tuesday morning to stand alongside demonstrating students.

'Young people are not being included in the conversation,' Thunberg, 23, told reporters. 'Our future is being stolen from us and, as we have seen here, schools are not getting the investment they need.' She added that young people's future is 'being robbed away from us'.

The protests, now in their third week, are demanding improvements to the education system including more teachers, better building conditions and smaller class schedules. Lawyers in their robes formed a human chain to protect pupils following accusations of police brutality at earlier demonstrations. Students have blockaded schools across the country and erected barriers outside hundreds of educational facilities.

According to interior ministry figures cited by The Guardian, marches around the country drew more than 260,000 protesters last Tuesday and a further 75,000 on Thursday. Al Jazeera reported that more than 70,000 people took to the streets in the latest major protest event. Education Minister Édouard Geffray said on Tuesday morning that about 200 schools were closed, fewer than the previous week. The Ministry of National Education reported that eight members of teaching staff were injured on Monday, mostly in the Paris region and in Bordeaux and Lyon.

The protests are backed by unions, some teachers and the left-wing opposition party France Unbowed. The university students' union UE posted on social media: 'They're not listening to us, so we're going to them.' French authorities had hoped the protests would ease during the two-week half-term school holidays due to start this weekend, but nationwide marches are expected on Tuesday in several major cities including Paris.

How it is being reported

• France: climate activist Greta Thunberg joins teens on new day of school protestsFrench students are taking to the streets for a fourth consecutive week of protests over poor school conditions, including teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating facilities. Backed by trade unions and university students, the movement has led to school blockades and clashes with police. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg joined a demonstration near Paris, while around 200 schools were reported closed amid the mobilisation. FRANCE 24's Clovis Casali has the latest from the ground.France 24 · 13 Oct, 11:40
• ‘Our future is being stolen’: Greta Thunberg joins students protesting in ParisSwedish activist stands alongside French teenagers calling for investment to fix teacher shortages and crumbling schools The Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has joined demonstrating high school students in France as the country braced for another day of nationwide protests over chronic teacher shortages, overcrowded classes and crumbling buildings . “Young people are not being included in the conversation,” Thunberg, 23, who became famous as a teenager through school strikes demanding action on the climate crisis, told reporters outside the Lycée Paul Éluard in the Paris suburb of…The Guardian · 13 Oct, 11:03
• Activist Greta Thunberg joins French student protestsThunberg arrives at Paul Eluard high school in the heart of the movement in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis.Al Jazeera · 13 Oct, 10:58
• 🔴 Live: Greta Thunberg joins French student protests ahead of nationwide ralliesFrance 24 · 13 Oct, 09:16

In this story: Greta Thunberg · Édouard Geffray · France · Paris · Saint-Denis · France Unbounded

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