France: 141 High Schools Still Closed Amid Ongoing Student Protests

Paris, Oct 9 (KUNA) -- The French Ministry of Education announced on Friday that 141 high schools remain closed amid ongoing student protests nationwide, despite the Education Minister’s pledge to recruit approximately 3,000 additional substitute teachers. Local reports quoted the ministry as saying that about 141 high schools in France are still closed due to the protests, representing less than 4 percent of the country’s total of 3,700 high schools. The ministry added in a press release that “more than 96 percent of high schools are open.” In this context, a spokesperson for Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right party, stated that the government’s decision to recruit around 3,000 substitute teachers for high schools amounts to “legitimizing the violence” witnessed during student protests over the past three weeks. High school students, whose movement originated in the suburbs of Paris, have condemned the poor condition of school buildings, overcrowded classrooms, and the lack of substitute teachers for absent instructors, particularly in working-class neighborhoods. (End) m.b./t.m.a.