France students plan more protests, UN 'concerned' over violence

France students plan more protests as the UN expresses concern over violent clashes. Tens of thousands of students have taken to the streets in France since late September, blocking entrances to high schools and leading to riot police deployment. The demonstrations have resulted in over 6,800 arrests, 86 percent of which are minors. The government has estimated the damage caused by the protests at 30 million euros.

The United Nations has voiced concern over the sometimes violent clashes, urging all parties to remain peaceful. Human rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo stated that the UN is closely following the incidents in France, some of which have turned violent. While demonstrations have been mostly peaceful, there have been instances of protesters starting fires and vandalizing bus shelters, leading to police using tear gas, batons, and blast balls.

This has sparked accusations of disproportionate use of force from rights groups and the students themselves.

The government has responded by suspending the use of stun grenades following the loss of a 15-year-old student's hand. Authorities are seeing a marked slowdown in the movement, with most injured high school students injured accidentally during the protests. However, students remain unconvinced and have called for large-scale demonstrations next week. Education Minister Edouard Geffray announced the deployment of substitute teachers to replace absent staff at the 114 worst-affected high schools.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has promised a plan to address the crisis by the end of October, while Economy Minister Roland Lescure acknowledged there is room to address demands for more school resources within the highly constrained 2027 budget. Currently, education has the second-largest increase in funding after defense, with a 1.4 percent boost to 90.9 billion euros. Of the 3,700 high schools in France, only 141 were closed on Friday.