'Everyone hates the police' – what France's school protests reveal about a divided nation

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. 'Everyone hates the police' – what France's school protests reveal about a divided nationImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Hundreds of thousands of students have protested across France since the end of last monthByNick BeakeEurope correspondentPublished1 hour agoAs dustbins burn and students chant "everyone hates the police" in the French city of Lille, one teenager explains why he and his friends have taken to the streets. "There aren't even enough chairs. We have to go and find some at the start of every lesson," the 16-year-old, who did not want to give his name, says of his school.

"We've got 50 minutes to eat at lunchtime but there are 2,000 of us that need to get through the canteen. "He is one of hundreds of thousands of students who have protested across France since the end of last month over staff shortages and dilapidated facilities in the country's lycées, secondary schools attended by 15 to 18-year-olds. Despite the government's apparent attempts to make concessions, the students show no sign of backing down.

The Details

"They have armies, they have the police, they have the powers," says Massicella, 18, as she marches through Lille. "But we have the mass population. "The protests, which have turned violent, have become a focal point in France's polarised politics, with all sides accusing the other of escalating tensions.

As a presidential election approaches, politicians on both the hard right and hard left have sought to capitalise on the unrest and on what many see as the government's inability to resolve the crisis. Image caption, Massicella, second left, and her friends have been protesting in LilleThe protests - ignited at the Lycée Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry in the deprived Paris suburb of Créteil - have struck a chord across the country. Videos of rats scuttling through corridors in other lycées soon hit social media, providing striking symbols of the discontent.

Other videos on TikTok and Instagram showed broken toilets, holes in walls and mouldy ceilings across the country. Students have complained of unbearable heat in the summer and freezing classrooms in the winter. The anger has also focused on long school hours, chronic staff shortages, overcrowded classes and a deeply unpopular university admissions system.

What Experts Say

Figure caption, Watch: Marseille school students explain why they're protestingThe problem for the French government - which became clearer as we spoke to dozens of pupils this week - is that even if a tiny minority of schools have a problem with rodents, a very large number of pupils believe their own education is failing them. On Tuesday, the government said 250,000 people marched, most of them young. The trade unions said it was more like half a million.

But it is not just students taking to the streets - their teachers are joining them. Secondary school teacher Marine Monins, who joined the demonstrations in Lille, shows us a laminated timetable which she says illustrates the problem.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.