World News by Wild Rose

It’s been a week of vigils, protests and political upheaval – from Israel, where three years after the Hamas-led attacks, former hostages and mourners called for accountability over the failures of October 7th, as questions grow over the stalled path to peace in Gaza; to France, where mass demonstrations over chronic underfunding and poor conditions have drawn students, unions and hundreds of thousands of protesters into the streets, just months ahead of a presidential election. In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has made the housing crisis the centrepiece of a high-stakes electoral gamble, as protests intensify following the death of a pensioner whose eviction helped ignite the movement. And in the UK, questions remain over a suspected Iranian plot targeting US aircraft at RAF Fairford, after American B-1 bombers were hastily withdrawn amid warnings of a serious and immediate threat.

French student unions ​vowed on Friday to keep up the fight even as the government registered a "marked slowdown" in a protest movement that has rattled the country for over a week. The UN human rights agency called for de-escalation, voicing concern over violent clashes with police that have caused severe injuries among teenage protesters.

Students on Thursday barricaded a Parisian high school with garbage bins before police shot tear gas at them as France’s nationwide protests showed little sign of ending. At least a dozen demonstrations supporting the high school students’ movement were planned across the country while 375 schools were fully or partially closed.

Over 70,000 people took part in demonstrations across France on Thursday demanding better education and less police brutality, as students protested nationwide despite government attempts to ease a crisis that has rocked the country for more than a week. Students have blocked entrances to hundreds of high schools, with squads of riot police deployed -- occasionally resulting in violent clashes. The interior ministry said 71,500 participated in protests across the country, with police detaining more than 500 people. FRANCE 24's Claire Paccalin reports from central Paris.

French teenagers blockaded some high schools and marched through cities on Thursday after the government promised to address their grievances about teacher shortages and dilapidated school buildings but gave no specific details. The protest movement, now into its third week, has exposed deep tensions in France between popular demands for investments in deteriorating public services and a cash-strapped ‌government under pressure from bond markets to reduce its debt and deficit. It has also led to...

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. That same evening, President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and other key ministers to find a way out of the crisis. FRANCE 24's Antonia Kerrigan reports from a high school in Aubervilliers, France.

The French government is looking to appease protesters after a week of high school student protests that spread across the nation. President Emmanuel Macron held a meeting Monday with his Prime Minister, Interior minister and Education minister in hopes of coming up with a solution to appease the protesters. But despite government efforts to renew dialogue, widespread protests are expected as soon as Thursday.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in cities across France on Tuesday in support of protests by school pupils demanding more education funding, increasing pressure on the government of outgoing President Emmanuel Macron. With teachers and trade unions joining the march, the students are seeking to turn the protests into a "major social movement" to increase pressure on the government, says France 24's Marc Perelman.

We take a look at what exactly French high school students are demanding in their nationwide blockades. From crumbling buildings, to absent teachers who are not replaced, to applying to university, we take a look at what has created so much anger among French teens. We also draw parallels between this movement and that of the Yellow Vests. 

A 15-year-old student lost a hand on Monday picking up a police grenade as part of nationwide protests in France over classroom conditions that have disrupted lessons at hundreds of schools since last week. Some students returned to classrooms but others maintained actions outside their schools, ahead of a day of larger demonstrations expected on Tuesday. Authorities said the teenager was injured in the northern town of Lens. A police union source said he appeared to have picked up a sting-ball...