French youth revolt widens as protests challenge Macron’s government

School concerns fuel protests

The demonstrations began about a month ago, driven by concerns over public high schools described as underfunded and understaffed. Early student demands included smaller classes and less chaotic schedules.

Since then, the movement has grown to include grievances over inequality, high living costs and public services. The crowds have also drawn looters and agitators, making it harder to distinguish the movement’s broader demands from acts of violence.

Violence prompts government response

In Limoges, the spire of a 19th-century town hall burned and collapsed. Authorities imposed curfews in parts of Paris, Nice and Lille, while condemning the violence. In a televised address Sunday night, President Emmanuel Macron promised to work with students, teachers, trade unions and other groups on “joint solutions,” he said. The article does not identify what measures might satisfy the movement’s varied demands.

A long history of protest

France’s demonstrations draw attention in part because protest has a prominent place in the country’s history and culture. A political scientist wrote in a 1994 paper that French demonstrations have, over centuries, often helped bring political change, with the French Revolution an early example.

In 1968, student protests grew into a broader workers’ strike that nearly toppled the government. Some young protesters today have invoked that history in interviews and slogans. Large demonstrations have also taken place in France over a proposed retirement-age increase three years ago and a gas-tax increase five years before that. Youth protests over education, living costs and government corruption have also occurred recently in Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Albania.

Education pressures and political stakes

The government says strained public finances limit its ability to address these problems. The article says many young people feel they are bearing more of the financial burden than other groups, while measures affecting older people, including raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, have been delayed.

The movement’s demands have become more diffuse than the initial calls for school reforms. Macron has said young people feel “there is no desirable future,” and the far right is already exploiting that concern six months before the next presidential election.