Lecornu clashes with Melenchon as French school blockades spread and arrests mount

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has clashed with far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon over a growing movement of high school students blockading classes to demand more resources, in a row that underscored the combative mood ahead of next spring’s presidential election.

In exchanges on social media on Monday, Melenchon defended the student protesters after Lecornu accused officials from his France Unbowed party of encouraging the scattered demonstrations. Melenchon accused Lecornu’s government of repressing students with “ferocity” and “an unmistakably racist undertone,” posting: “Don’t touch our young people,” and urging his supporters to get involved “wherever you can.”

Lecornu replied that the racism accusation “is an insult”: “Students have a right to safety. Staff have a right to protection. Police officers have a right to respect when carrying out their duties,” he wrote, adding that “condemning the violence and those who attack high school students should require less effort from you than smearing those who protect them.”

The protests erupted at schools in the Paris area last week and have spread to other regions. In the southern Alpes-Maritimes region, police arrested 10 high school students on Monday on allegations of setting fires, throwing projectiles and other violent acts that injured two students, the regional government said.

Student complaints centre on deteriorating buildings, teacher shortages and heavy class schedules. The row comes as Lecornu tries to assemble enough public and political support to pass a 2027 budget through a divided parliament, where opponents resist proposed spending cuts.

Student leaders have called for a nationwide blockade of high schools on Tuesday, coinciding with a public-sector strike, while the interior and education ministers have warned that police will intervene against violence or total blockades.

Sources

• AP via La Nacion — French presidential campaign heats up as student protests fuel political clashes
• AP via Ottumwa Courier