Why thousands are taking to the street over school funding and classroom conditions
Massive protests in France over school funding and classroom conditions have escalated into violent clashes between demonstrators and police. The unrest has resulted in hundreds of injuries and thousands of arrests, prompting emergency government meetings.
Why it matters
The scale of the protests and the resulting violence reflect deep-seated social and economic tensions regarding public service funding in France.
There seems no easy way to satisfy protesters who are using dramatic action to try to force leaders to spend more on classrooms.
Riot police use a water cannon on students in Rennes. AP Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.
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Share A A A The fury among French protesters reached a new peak when at least 250,000 people joined rallies that have confronted police and spread flames on the streets.
Clashes that began two weeks ago as a call for better classrooms surged to new levels of violence on Tuesday (France time) as some agitators sought to burn down schools, while police deployed tear gas and stun grenades to control the crowds.
Also covering this story
15 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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