The French government has announced it will provide 3,000 additional substitute teachers after three weeks of protests by young students demanding more resources for secondary education. This is being described as the government’s first concrete step in response to the protesters’ demands.
French Education Minister Édouard Geffray said in a television interview on Thursday evening that the ministry will use a new computer programme to deploy the additional teachers to about 500 secondary schools according to need.
During the protests on Thursday, about 71,000 people took part in demonstrations across the country, 24,000 of whom gathered at Place de la Bastille in Paris.
Police used tear gas to disperse protesters in some places. A school was vandalised in Bordeaux, while a school deputy head was assaulted in Marseille.
According to the government, 6,877 people have been arrested since the protests began, 86 per cent of them under the age of 18.
On Friday, about 140 of the country’s 3,500 high schools remained fully or partially closed, a significant drop compared with previous days. However, another protest has been called for next Tuesday.
People in the education sector have long said that students are losing teaching time because of teacher absences and a shortage of substitute teachers to cover for them.
Under the new programme, priority will be given to schools with the greatest teacher shortages, which may include schools in suburban areas of cities with large immigrant populations.
