What on earth is happening in France?

[DangerQuakeRhinoSnake]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9zrdmxp4vy6o

This has really shocked me, awful reports coming out of France. I'm unsure as to exactly why the students are protesting and attacking teachers, and what the govt is going to do about it. Presumably this has been brewing for a while. Are people just angry in general and looking for excuses to riot?

Looks so close to societal breakdown from what I've seen online. Very scary and very sad.

Interesting debate about sources. I saw the footage of the lady having a blowtorch aimed at her face and I saw it on twitter. I don't recall the bbc mentioning it, in fact the bbc have only reported injuries to students from what i can tell. That doesn't seem like balanced reporting.

It was the same with the immigrant boats on the south coast a week or so ago. Much more info from the scenes on social media, I guess the public sees it as one way of raising awareness of what is happening. The bbc articles didn't seem to recognise a lot of what went on, and seemed to report from the authorities' pov.

Sometimes the only way you get the full story is to look at a selection of different sources.

Many middle class lycéens know what they are protesting about and go about it in a peaceful way. More lycéens don't care but see it as an opportunity to protest in general and have a day off school. And then we got the violent rioters; some of them in school, many not even in the education system but just want to brawl.

And all of these take place in the same space, overlapping, so it’s hard to tell them apart until it goes tits-up.

in the first couple of days at our lycée we had the respectful, peaceful protestors outside. French-style though so the entrance was solidly blocked with big bins / barriers. They were then baited and encouraged to fight by some of the ‘anti woke’ students (lots of the first group are also pro Palestinian and turn up wearing scarves etc) which resulted in scuffles. Then the guys in black wearing mask turn up looking for a fight. Some of them are students from other (poorer) lycée in neighbouring areas, some seem to just be on a rampage. And they are swiftly followed by the police /CRS at which all bets are off, safety wise.

as @TheBlueKoala says, the 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants have a point. France is a highly elitist, very racist country. The state is officially blind to colour / race / ethnicity but people / teachers / employers / police are not. It just means there’s no data to back up claims of racism.

And the policies of assimilation (not integration), and laicite means these groups feel very alienated from French culture and society.

Its higher than O level standard. They have already done a national level exam at 15. Then have 3 years of lycee for their equivalent of A levels.

DS1 is in the first year of lycee and has 32 hours of lessons.
French, maths, physics-chemistry, biology, English, German, Latin, history-geography, IT, social and economic science and sport.

It is a lot. He starts at 8am every day and finishes at 5.35pm or 4.35pm (except Wednesdays when he finishes at 12 and has hisnown sport in the afternoon).

The next 2 years he'll also have lessons on Wednesday afternoons....

Sounds like the French govt could solve this by changing the post 15 education requirement. Perhaps to more reflect the British one?

Why is it so heavy currently? Do they see themselves as superior in this way, somehow? As a student I'd have hated this.

She was extremely lucky to not be more seriously injured from a violent attack by a thug. BBC are completely disingenuous still framing it largely as ‘student protests.’ I’ve seen footage of beautiful, state if the art schools burnt down, including set on fire with people inside. It’s horrific but the media haven’t used the word thug once.

‘Student protests’ does sound benign not indicating burning down of schools or flames in a face.

Perhaps the actual issues are problematic and France are too high in debt to fund education to the level people want. But the violence isn’t good.

I live in France half the year and protesting is an important life skill for the French. No one here seems very fussed, more indulgence with a bit of pride that the next generation looks well equipped to carry on the tradition.

The gouvernment does not ignore protests as much. The memory of la revolution is still very present.

The students are not protesting too much work, but atrocious working conditions.

So a classroom full of kids and no teacher, unsupervised? Well that’s a recipe for disaster! Even little ones?

That sounds mad. I can imagine if you did that here lots of kids would leave at 16

I know this. But if there was less workload overall it would surely be easier to keep the system ticking over adequately.

Sounds like uk :(

I am half French and went through the French education system. I remember taking part in various protests as a pupil and then as a university student. Taking to the streets is perfectly normal and expected French behaviour. It keeps the government of the day in check by reminding them who has the real power and that voters don't just meekly accept things.

Unfortunately protests can often be infiltrated by people who have a different agenda and just want to cause trouble/start fights rather than air a genuine grievance but that does not mean that the protesters don't have a valid cause.

French protests often look scary as well because the country as a dedicated riot and crowd control police (CRS) who can go over the top very quickly.

No it doesn't.

If you genuinely think this is a few students protesting about school conditions then I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command”

Orwell was a visionary.

What is it about then ?

The French lycée system is about breadth. The British system favours depth. I've experienced both (different country), one as a student and the UK one as a parent and I much, much prefer the breadth. It's tough, but fine if you have decent facilities and the right staffing levels. Which at the moment, they don't seem to have (this is sadly a symptom of the general economic decline in Europe, but that's a different conversation).

A levels are way too narrow (some people call it specialisation). Asking a 15-16 year old to decide what to do with the rest of their life is premature, and it stops dead the acquisition of knowledge for the sake of knowledge. I know so many kids stuck with the wrong 3 subjects, feeling lost after all that work. Let alone the lack of general knowledge.

The protests are understandable and legitimate. The trouble is the arrival/infiltration of thugs and troublemakers, the masked antifa style criminals whose hobby is to cause chaos. We mustn't confuse the protesters with the thugs.

But why should the French adapt or water down their culture to make it more acceptable to immigrants who wish to enjoy the economic benefits of living in a free and tolerant country, but who refuse to integrate and refuse to tolerate the traditional values of the host?

I wouldn't dream of moving to a foreign country and demand that they alter their way of life to accommodate me. Yet in the UK we are all forced to water down our traditions and our culture because of DEI, guilt from our colonial past, unsustainable levels of immigration, and under threat of being called a 'racist', far-right, etc. if you dare to say otherwise.

And Islamic culture has some fundamental incompatibilities with our Western culture. Things like the barbaric and deeply cruel practice of halal slaughter. Lack of tolerance for homosexuals. Lack of tolerance of pubs and dogs. Women forced to cover their faces and having less rights than men. Marriage of underage girls, etc, etc.

And trying to integrate a culture from the dark age, with a modern Western progressive society where women have equal rights, is a recipe ultimately for civil war if it is allowed to continue.

The BBC is the mouthpiece of government and increasingly the far left who control its output. It is no longer a trustworthy and unbiased source of news, which is why, since their completely disproportionate scaremongering during Covid, I now refuse to pay my TV licence.

The notion that A Levels predict the 'rest of your life' is quite dramatic @stickygotstuck

At that age I'll still be saying to my dc do what interests you and what you enjoy, as that is where you'll do best.

There is nothing wrong with specialising at that age, and clearly it means there is less pressure on the system as they are not in classes as much.

Not everyone enjoys wall to wall classes all day and all week.

Is it compulsory learning until 18 in France too?

A blunt but accurate summary of where we currently are and what is going wrong with the West.

Sounds nothing like it!

Big classes, exams in heatwaves

It is just fascinating that in France the youngsters protest their own Government/situation whereas here the YPs are either protesting Palestine or anti immigration (but neither directly at our own Government really or their own situation). The French version seems more direct.

Agenda Free TV on YouTube are covering. Two livestreams showing Strasbourg and Lyon are currently running if anyone's interested.