Greta Thunberg traveled to Paris to stand in solidarity with the massive student protests that are shaking France. The 23-year-old Swedish climate activist appeared at a demonstration in the suburb of Saint-Denis, where hundreds of young people are demanding sweeping improvements to the country’s education system.
Read more: France is boiling: Students push Macron to the brink — the causes behind the protests echoing May ’68 and the unsolved puzzle
Greta Thunberg’s appearance in a working-class Paris suburb
In the northern outskirts of the French capital, the world-famous environmental activist joined roughly one hundred young demonstrators gathered outside a high school in the Saint-Denis district. Wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh draped over her shoulders, Thunberg delivered a message of solidarity to the protesters, stressing that educational institutions are being deprived of the investment they desperately need. “They are stealing our future,” she declared, adding that she is proud of French students for standing up and fighting for their rights.
Student protests spread across France
The wave of unrest that erupted on September 17 in the greater Paris area has since swept across every corner of France. High school students, university pupils, and trade union representatives are joining forces to demand meaningful change. On the fifth day of nationwide mobilization, demonstrations took place in cities including Nantes, Lens, Lyon, and Marseille, with the chant “Fight until we win” ringing out across the country. The Interior Ministry recorded 360 protest actions outside educational facilities — including one hundred universities — with 30,000 participants outside the capital alone. The Education Ministry, meanwhile, reports a slight drop in school closures, with 214 institutions shut today compared to 224 the previous week.
Protesters’ demands and the government’s response
Demonstrators across France are calling for concrete measures to overhaul the education system. The national high school students’ union is demanding a €10 billion investment program for secondary schools, citing chronic shortages of teaching staff, overcrowded classrooms, and the dilapidated state of school buildings. The national students’ union claims that 90% of French universities are blockaded or closed, while the Ministry of Higher Education puts the figure at disruptions affecting 35% of institutions. Numerous teachers’ unions, civil service unions, and parents’ associations have all voiced their support for the movement since its inception. In Paris, where many high schools and universities have been blockaded since the early morning hours, young people gathered for a major march that kicked off at 2:00 p.m. local time.
The movement escalates — latest developments
Student and university organizations have been requesting a meeting with the French Prime Minister for days, posting on social media: “They won’t listen to us — we’ll go and find them ourselves.” The government, for its part, insists the movement is losing momentum, despite the fact that more than 70,000 people took part in the previous major protest on Thursday. Nevertheless, the ministry has expressed alarm over a rise in violent incidents, reporting that 147 members of educational staff have been injured since the protests began. The movement rolls on just six months before pivotal presidential elections, piling additional pressure on the government to resolve the deep-rooted educational problems that have long plagued the country.
