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

In late September, at the Saint-Exupéry high school in Créteil, a south-eastern suburb of Paris, a group of students blocked the entrance at the school gate.

In less than three weeks, it became a high-school movement sweeping the whole country.

On September 30th, more than 250,000 people marched nationwide, 56,000 in Paris; on October 1st alone, the Interior Ministry said nearly 2,000 were arrested; by October 5th, more than 500 of the country's 3,700 high schools were fully or partly shut.

The most shocking image came from the northern city of Lens: a fifteen-year-old student, in a clash with riot police, had a hand blown off by a grenade.

So what exactly are these teenagers protesting about?

The answer is surprisingly plain: no teachers, no chairs, no money.

Official data show that last school year about 10 percent of teaching hours in France's public secondary schools went untaught for lack of teachers, worst in maths and English.

One student told the media: there are thirty-five of us in a class, and not enough chairs in the classroom.

Another said: the building is about to collapse, the cafeteria is too small, and the school's budget is zero.

Add classrooms at 35 degrees in summer and a university application platform that puts final-year students under huge pressure, and the discontent built up bit by bit, finally igniting at one school and spreading rapidly nationwide.

The protests soon spiraled out of control.

Schools were set on fire and looted, staff were beaten, students in Marseille burned a fire truck, and property damage is estimated at tens of millions of euros.

The police response was just as tough: more than 5,000 arrested, the vast majority minors, more than 1,800 prosecuted, and besides students and school staff, more than 600 police officers injured.

The government's stance has moved from hardline to concessions.

Prime Minister Lecornu released casualty figures while condemning the violence; Education Minister Geffray announced a 'partial, progressive' return to class and five measures: guaranteeing lessons, improving facilities, adjusting class hours,

making university applications more transparent, and giving students more say, plus a promise of a funding plan by month's end.

But the real difficulty is precisely that last item: money.

France's finances are already tight; its deficit has long exceeded the EU limit, and its debt-to-GDP ratio is among the highest in Europe.

For years the government has pushed austerity, and public services like education are among the first to be squeezed.

So on the surface this movement is students demanding teachers, but underneath it's an old question: how does a heavily indebted country keep the public services it has promised?

The French are no strangers to this kind of conflict.

From the yellow-vest movement of 2018 to the 2023 general strikes against Macron raising the retirement age, the street has always been the main way French society expresses discontent.

What's different this time is that the people on the streets are teenagers who can't yet vote.

And with a presidential election in half a year, no side wants to look weak right now.

Some worry that long school closures will make students pay the highest price, especially in suburban schools already short of teachers.

Others argue that without protests like these, nobody would have noticed that 10 percent of untaught lessons.

What do you think: when a country is short of money, should education be protected first?