World News by Wild Rose

Dozens of protesters took to the Paris streets on Thursday despite bans on demonstrations ordered in multiple French cities following a weekend of clashes and widespread looting that marked France’s most violent unrest in years.

Eve Irvine is pleased to welcome Axel Berra-Vescio, French History-Geography and European section teacher in the Paris region. France's student protests are exposing what educators describe as years of structural neglect, widening educational inequalities and the cumulative consequences of controversial reforms. “We've been ignored basically about every demand we made,” Berra-Vescio says. He also condemns the police response to the demonstrations, warning that repression is unlikely to weaken a movement rooted in years of frustration over the future of public education.

As student protests converge with broader public discontent over the rising cost of living in France, Genie Godula is joined by Sébastien Vieille, national secretary of the SNALC teachers’ union. He offers an assessment of a movement confronting political uncertainty, deteriorating school infrastructure and mounting fiscal constraints. Speaking from Montbéliard in eastern France, Vieille questions whether alliances with larger protest movements, including the Yellow Vests, will strengthen students’ demands or ultimately make them "less visible". 

Prime Minister Edi Rama condemns 'chaos' as protests continue for third day in the capital and spread to other cities.

Clashes broke out between demonstrators and police for the third consecutive day on Thursday in Albania, with Prime Minister Edi Rama condemning the “chaos” that caused damage to government buildings. Thousands of protesters are calling for Rama's resignation and better studying conditions for Albanian students.

Albania's capital, Tirana, saw violent clashes between student protesters and police on Tuesday, 13 October, as demonstrations continued overnight into Wednesday.

French student unions vowed ​on Friday to keep up protests after scoring their first win in a campaign that is increasingly supported by Paris's elite universities, with 141 schools still shut around the country, according to the education ministry. Student and ‌teacher unions have called for another round of nationwide school strikes next Tuesday. FRANCE 24's Shirli Sitbon reports.

Erin Ogunkeye welcomes Dr. Antoine Marie, postdoctoral researcher, fellow and lecturer at Sciences Po / CEVIPOF, to explore the political psychology behind France’s student protests. Why do people witness the same events yet reach radically different conclusions about violence? Dr Marie examines how media echo chambers, partisan thinking and the politicization of empathy deepen polarization, making it easier to overlook the suffering of those perceived as political opponents. He also examines France’s increasingly offensive police doctrine, questions surrounding accountability, and the institutional incentives that may actually hinder independent investigations into police misconduct.

Students who have been protesting classroom conditions in France for days are "not looking like they are willing to back down", says France 24 reporter Claire Paccalin, despite promises by the French prime minister to bring in measures to address their grievances.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in a televised address Wednesday evening that the country could not be "indifferent" to the concerns of protesting high school students, acknowledging that the "anger of young people does not come from nowhere". He denied that security forces have "orders to confront" the young people, and promised the government would present a plan to respond to the crisis at the end of October. But what measures could the French government introduce and will it be enough to calm the protests? France 24’s Rochelle Ferguson Bouyahi takes a look.

France has suspended the use of stun grenades by police at student-led demonstrations, the interior minister said Wednesday, as allegations of police brutality mounted after days of sometimes violent demonstrations across the country. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across France on Tuesday demanding better conditions in high schools. FRANCE 24's Monte Francis reports.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has tried to calm both student protesters and jittery bond markets. In an address to the nation, Lecornu stressed that the education ministry had not seen any cuts in last week's budget proposal, but insisted the government must cut its public deficit to 5%. There are growing concerns about France's spending and debt, with the IMF urging the country to "get your house in order." Lecornu also confirmed the release of 10 million barrels of diesel fuel. 

Students, parents and trade unions were demonstrating across France Tuesday, protesting what they say is under-investment in high schools. From Mai 68 to the CPE crisis in 2006, major French student and youth protests have pressured leaders and transformed national politics.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to make public address after thousands rally to demand more funding for education.

A 15-year-old lost a hand on Monday picking up a police grenade amid nationwide school protests demanding better funding and classroom conditions. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Ariane Bogain, Senior Lecturer in French Politics at Northumbria University, says that "there is a definite issue with violence and we need to ask why there is this unidimensional reaction which is aggressive, which is riot police, which is repressive".

The high school protest movement that's erupted over the past week here in France is showing no signs of slowing down. Demonstrations have raged at more than 1,200 high schools, and more than 5,000 people – most of them minors – have been arrested. Students are furious at what they say is a chronic lack of funding for state schools, with that anger exacerbated by accusations that state resources are unfairly distributed, with richer and whiter postcodes historically receiving the lion's share of funds.

Up to 500 schools are expected to close across France on Monday as student protests continue, according to the country's Education Minister Édouard Geffray. The protests over high teacher absence rates, overlong school days and dilapidated facilities began at a Paris school on September 17 but grew into a nationwide movement last week. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. 

Lessons will be "totally or partly suspended" in some high schools after clashes between riot police and student protesters, France's education minister says.

Education minister cites safety concerns for closures as organisers call for resumption of protests.

Alison Sargent is pleased to welcome Éric Fassin, a sociologist and professor at Paris VIII University. He sees these student protests first and foremost as a demand for equality, dignity and recognition. Students from working-class suburbs are asking for the basic conditions that make studying possible and, ultimately, the same opportunities as students elsewhere. What began among students in the Parisian suburbs has spread, but its fundamental meaning remains the same: this is a social movement with a political and democratic dimension. He also see these protests in the context of a longer history of repression of social movements in France.

Tens of thousands of workers march nationwide, as police arrest 440 students in clashes at schools.

Bankipur bypoll outcome on Monday in Bihar will be a clear sign of heartland public mood after the student protests