France's Justice Ministry says more than 5,000 people have been arrested since nationwide school protests began a fortnight ago. Tuesday brought fresh blockades and union-backed street marches, a day after a 15-year-old protester lost a hand in clashes with police. The disorder is also piling pressure on a government already struggling to narrow France's budget deficit as bond yields climb.
France's Justice Ministry said Tuesday that 5,060 people have been arrested since the protests began a fortnight ago, with 87% of them minors. Teenage students barricaded schools with trash cans from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south, while trade unions joined street demonstrations nationwide. In Paris, students held banners that read, according to Reuters: "We want to be heard, not teargassed".
The unrest began in Paris's deprived suburbs before spreading across the country, and the government says the movement has now morphed into urban violence. On Monday, a 15-year-old protester in northern France lost a hand and part of his lower arm after picking up a police dispersal grenade, according to regional newspaper La Voix du Nord. The local prefect declined to comment on the exact circumstances but said 200 to 250 protesters had been hurling objects at police.
Government promises a response
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has ordered ministers to address the students' leading demands, including replacing absent teachers and reviewing the length of the 8 a.m.-to-6 p.m. school day, and has demanded first proposals by the end of October. The government will also examine repairs needed at aging school buildings. But finding spare cash will be difficult, since France is already trying to narrow a ballooning budget deficit.
Bond yields near a 24-year high
Investor concern over France's growing debt, weak growth and reluctance to rein in spending has pushed borrowing costs higher. The yield on France's 10-year bonds briefly hit a 24-year high of over 5% last week, and the rise has started to spill into the broader euro area, with the sliding euro the latest alarm bell for policymakers. Finance Minister Roland Lescure said Tuesday there was no need for the European Central Bank to step in.
Arrests mount as parties trade blame
More than 1,800 people are being prosecuted, including 1,483 minors, while 790 cases have been dismissed, the Justice Ministry said. At least 715 police officers and 215 teenagers have been injured in the clashes, according to Lecornu's office.
Six months before an election to replace President Emmanuel Macron, his government and far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen have accused hard-left France Unbowed lawmakers and mayors of stoking the protests, an accusation the party denies. Bally Bagayoko, the France Unbowed mayor of Saint-Denis, said he opposed the violence but stood by the protesting students, whom he described as his own residents.
Source: Investing.com
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