Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Paris: France faces continued turmoil as Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu prepares to meet student representatives on Monday, while President Emmanuel Macron is set to visit Marseille after weeks of protests that have spilled into rioting, looting and vandalism.
Student led demonstrations and civil unrest have spread across several European countries, fuelled by concern over rising living costs, housing affordability, education funding and the state of public services. In France, the protests have become a major test for the government, which is under pressure to show it can both listen to young people and restore order on the streets.
Lecornu and the country’s education ministers are scheduled to hold talks with student leaders in Paris. National Education Minister Edouard Geffray and Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste will join the discussions, which are to be followed by a news conference later in the afternoon. The meeting is seen as an attempt to open a channel of dialogue with a movement that has so far been loosely organised and, at times, difficult to engage.
Macron’s planned visit to Marseille, one of the cities affected by the disturbances, comes amid mounting criticism of the government’s handling of security. Opposition parties and commentators have questioned whether authorities were prepared for the scale of the unrest, even as the demonstrations in some places have turned violent.
The response of the police has also drawn scrutiny. Reports have emerged of teenagers being seriously injured and of thousands of arrests, prompting rights groups and political figures to call for restraint and for proportionality in the use of force. At the same time, police unions have pointed to the heavy toll on officers confronting rioters.
Authorities said 1,435 people were arrested during the latest weekend of demonstrations. They also reported injuries to 267 police officers and gendarmes and 150 protesters, figures that illustrate the intensity of the confrontations.
The unrest places the government in a delicate position. Cost of living pressures, a tight housing market and strained public finances have fed frustration among young people, and ministers face the challenge of responding to those grievances without appearing to reward violence. How far the talks with student leaders can defuse tension will be closely watched in Paris and across Europe.
For the many Indian students and families with ties to France, developments are being followed with concern, and the situation remains fluid.
