Why France Is Burning

For the past few days, France has been burning.

Last week, high school students in Paris took to the streets to protest what they described as excessively long school hours, overheated classrooms, frequent staff absences, and crumbling buildings. Since then, the movement has spread across the country. It is pandemonium: Students are piling trash bins and other objects across school entrances to prevent their classmates from entering; they are setting piles of garbage on fire in the streets; they are wrapping their faces with masks and balaclavas; they are violently clashing with police.

In Marseille on Thursday, firefighters responding to burning trash outside Saint-Exupéry high school came under attack. One firefighter was injured, and an emergency response vehicle was torched. In Paris, a police lieutenant was chased, tripped, and kicked on the ground by several attackers. Footage carried by the news outlet Actu17 includes a cry of “Kill her!” Its report did not establish whether the attackers were students, but so far, more than 100 schools have been damaged, and 65 staff members and 170 students have been injured.

And there is no end in sight. On Sunday, education minister Édouard Geffray said that between 400 and 500 schools will be closed on Monday as security conditions “have not been fulfilled.” Student unions have called for a nationwide day of protests on Tuesday.