The spokesman for the Russian Presidency (Kremlin), Dmitry Peskov, today criticised the violence of some demonstrators who, during the student protests two weeks ago in France, perpetrated acts of vandalism against French educational institutions.
© Ramil Sitdikov / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
07/10/2026
by
Lusa
“ Athose who burn down schools, garbage cans and cars, who attack police, are bad students,” he said at his daily press conference by telephone, ensuring that students are valued in Russia.
Despite mentioning that “what happens in France is an internal matter of France”, Peskov used to praise the Russian education system.
“ Both the Government and the President, [Vladimir Putin], are doing everything possible to improve the education system, to open new educational centres, new schools,” he said, stressing that thousands of schools are built or renewed annually in Russia.
According to the spokesman for the Kremlin, all these actions aim to ensure that education in Russia “is truly at the highest international level”.
“ Judging from what is happening in France, our education system is even beyond the international standard, if the French educational system can be associated with an international standard in any way,” he said.
Asked about the police violence that caused several victims during the demonstrations in France, Peskov indicated that this issue should be addressed to the French authorities rather than to the Kremlin.
The student protests gathered tens of thousands of people on Tuesday in Paris and other major French cities, in defense of better education and cuts in the public sector, at a time when the French Government is under pressure due to mistrust on the market.
The mobilization brought together 266,000 people throughout France, according to the Ministry of the Interior, compared to 450,000, according to the organizing student groups.
In Paris, the authorities counted 56,000 protesters, while the organizers estimated the number at 100,000.
The revolt of secondary school students, which began mid-September in a school outside Paris and spread across France to demand better conditions in schools and a better organization of studies, was supported by various unions and left-wing parties.
Under pressure from social unrest, French President Emmanuel Macron called on several of his ministers on Tuesday night to find a solution to the crisis, which some student unions want to prolong until October 17, the day of a planned demonstration against the high cost of living.