French President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged that students protesting across the country have legitimate grievances but accused political forces of exploiting the demonstrations for political purposes.
Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon disclosed this on Wednesday after Macron’s weekly cabinet meeting, saying the president had directed the government to provide concrete responses to the unrest within weeks.
The protests, which have lasted three weeks and disrupted activities in several schools, have attracted widespread support from students, trade unions, rights groups and parents.
The interior ministry said 161,500 people participated in solidarity demonstrations held in Paris and other cities on Tuesday, while unions organising the rallies put the figure at 480,000.
Some demonstrations were marred by violence, with police firing tear gas in response to incidents in Paris and Lyon.
According to Bregeon, Macron acknowledged the concerns raised by young people but warned that political interests were fuelling the unrest.
“He stressed that young people have legitimate concerns, but said these are being exploited for political purposes and turned into urban violence,” she said.
With France’s presidential election scheduled for April and May next year, opposition parties have increasingly focused on the demonstrations.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, presidential candidate of the far-left France Unbowed party, participated in one of the protests in Paris, while the far-right National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, expressed support for the police and blamed students for violent incidents.
The demonstrations have also triggered controversy over police conduct, with students, unions, rights groups and parents accusing officers of using excessive force against protesters.
The family of a 15-year-old student who lost his left hand when a police stun grenade exploded has initiated legal action, demanding an impartial investigation into the incident.
The family’s lawyer, Bertrand Wattez, said the boy, identified as Evan, disputed the police account relayed by prosecutors that he attempted to pick up the grenade before it exploded on October 5. He also denied participating in the student protests in Lens, where the incident occurred.
Wattez said the explosion also injured several fingers on the boy’s right hand.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told parliament on Wednesday that 248 students had been injured during the protests, mostly in incidents he attributed to urban violence.
He added that 937 police officers and 149 members of teaching staff had also sustained injuries.
Lecornu accused allies of France Unbowed of exploiting the student movement for electoral purposes.
Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry disclosed that 7,950 people had been arrested since the protests began in late September, with minors accounting for 85 per cent of those apprehended.
Charges had been filed against 2,735 people, while 26 were remanded in custody, according to the ministry.
In a separate incident in the western city of Tours, a 16-year-old student lost sight in one eye during a protest outside his school on September 30. His family blamed the police for the injury.
The Tours prosecutor said late Tuesday that the officer involved had been charged with aggravated battery.
The Interior Ministry also reported that police had opened internal investigations into 36 allegations of officers using violence against demonstrators.
In another development, the police union Alliance announced late Wednesday that it had filed a lawsuit against the government, accusing it of endangering officers through what it described as contradictory orders during the demonstrations.
The union said officers felt betrayed by political leaders over unclear instructions and public expressions of sympathy towards protesters accused of rioting.
French authorities expressed hope that the protests would ease in the coming days as schools begin a two-week holiday over the weekend.
The government also said 2,000 of the 3,000 substitute teachers promised for 114 of the country’s worst-affected schools had already resumed their duties.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray told parliament that about a third of France’s 3,700 lycées, which cater for students aged 15 to 18, had been severely affected by the protests, while another third experienced limited disruption.
