Students are demanding better conditions across French overseas territories, with concerns ranging from teacher shortages and poor facilities to university-placement rules.
Students staged protests across several French overseas territories with different demands. The prefecture counted 1,500 demonstrators across Réunion on Tuesday. Students there called for more teachers and resources and better scheduling. In the Antilles, protesters focused on deteriorating school buildings and the Parcoursup university-placement system, which they say disadvantages those seeking to study in mainland France.
A gathering in Saint-Pierre, Réunion, was peaceful; police counted 300 participants and organizers 800. Brief clashes took place in Saint-Paul and Saint-Louis. By midday, authorities had arrested 22 people, including 21 minors, and deployed 387 police officers and gendarmes across the island. In earlier incidents in Saint-Denis, seven officers were injured and 18 people arrested.
A school-hall entrance in Saint-Benoît was set on fire overnight, while an arrest in Le Tampon prompted an investigation and criticism from the Réunion Women’s Union after video showed a young person held on the ground by gendarmes. In the Antilles, protests began Monday. In Martinique, 16 schools were affected and two moved to online classes; at least seven high schools mobilized in Guadeloupe. Eight students were arrested across the islands.
In Guadeloupe, students cited conditions that make learning difficult in tropical heat, including water outages, inadequate toilets and a lack of air conditioning. Education officials acknowledged the need to improve teacher replacements, while the regional government said it was investing in school renovations.