French government condemns “acts of violence” of students against police

O minister of the French Interior, Laurent Nuñez, today condemned the “acts of violence” of students against the police on Thursday, while commending the actions of security forces.

“I strongly condemn the acts of violence that several police and gendarmes were targeted, such as in Paris, where pieces of chimneys were thrown from the roofs towards the security forces. An investigation was opened”, announced, on social network X.

The episode will have taken place on Thursday during a demonstration in Paris, when a group of young people was filmed on a roof of a building.

The minister praised the “performance” of the security forces “who, throughout the national territory, acted to ensure the security of the authorised demonstrations, quickly put an end to disturbances and maintain public order.”.

According to the French Ministry of Justice, 6,877 people have been arrested since the start of student protests in France about two weeks ago, of which 86% are underage.

So far, proceedings have been initiated against 2,376 people, and 21 have been in protective custody, six of whom have been minors, today in a statement.

This excludes the detainees during the Thursday demonstration, when clashes were recorded between some students and police forces, who responded with the use of tear gas and a water cannon.

This morning, the French media reported an investigation by the National Police Inspectorate following an incident on Thursday.

In a video you see a young man being beaten violently with a knee in his face by an interventional agent, causing blood.

A spokesman today said that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights follows with “concern” the demonstrations of secondary school students in France and called for the “proportional” use of force by the authorities.

Hundreds of students and police officers have been injured since the protests began, and some incidents have triggered internal investigations by the entity that oversees police activity.

In Tours, a 16-year-old high school student lost sight of an eye during a school block last week, and another 15-year-old teenager lost his hand due to a stun grenade fired by the police in Lens on Monday.

In another incident, a 14 - year - old student had a broken jaw in the Paris region.

On the students' side, several acts of vandalism were recorded, such as fires and other damage in school establishments.

French secondary school students started protests in mid-September against degraded facilities, crowded classes, insufficient teachers and lack of vacancies in universities.

Displeasure began in high schools, where young people between the ages of 15 and 18 completed the last three years of secondary education, but spread to universities and received support from teacher organizations.

Today 141 schools were still closed, according to an assessment by the French Ministry of Education this morning, less than 4% of the 3,700 French high schools.

Trade union organizations of students and students called new protests and strikes for Tuesday, October 13.