法国高中生因缺老师罢课抗议：二十五万人上街，五百多所学校停课

A fifteen-year-old student lost a hand during a protest.

It happened in Lens, northern France: during a clash between students and riot police, a grenade exploded next to him.

This is already the third week of French high-school protests.

The protests began in late September at a high school in Créteil, a Paris suburb.

At first, students simply stopped going to class, stood at the school gate, and voiced their complaints.

Their complaints are actually very specific.

The biggest problem is a lack of teachers.

According to statistics, last school year nearly 10 percent of classes in France's public secondary schools didn't happen because there was no teacher.

One student said: there are thirty-five of us in a class, and not even enough chairs.

Others said: the building is about to collapse, the cafeteria is too small, and the school has no money at all.

On top of that, classrooms can reach thirty-five degrees in summer, and there's the university application system that makes every final-year student anxious.

As frustration built up, the class boycott spread from one school to hundreds.

September 30th was the biggest day: more than 250,000 people marched nationwide, 56,000 in Paris alone.

But the protests quickly turned violent.

Schools were set on fire, teachers were beaten, and in Marseille students burned a fire truck.

The police response was tough too: more than 5,000 people arrested, most of them minors, with nearly 2,000 in a single day.

More than 1,800 people have already been prosecuted.

Many were injured: students, school staff, and more than 600 police officers.

By October 5th, more than 500 high schools nationwide were fully or partly closed, out of only 3,700 in all of France.

How has the government responded?

Education Minister Geffray announced that schools would resume classes 'part by part, slowly.'

He also set out five directions: a teacher for every class, better school conditions, adjusted school hours, a more transparent university application system, and listening more to students.

The government also promised to put concrete money on the table before the end of the month.

But that's exactly the problem: where does the money come from?

France is under heavy budget pressure, with high deficits and debt, and has spent the past few years trying to spend less.

The students' message is simple: save money, fine, but not from the classroom.

In half a year France elects a president, so these protests are also making the whole political mood more tense.

Do you think boycotting classes is a good way for students to protest?