In Marseille and Aix-en-Provence, students are blockading two high schools to demand more resources
Two high schools in the Bouches-du-Rhône department were blockaded by students on Wednesday morning, September 30: Saint-Charles, in the 1st arrondissement of Marseille, and Georges-Duby, in Luynes, in the Aix-en-Provence area. The students are protesting the lack of resources and demanding, in particular, the replacement of absent teachers and improved learning conditions.
Two establishments affected in the Bouches-du-Rhône
In Marseille, the blockade of the Saint-Charles high school began around 7:30 a.m., according to ICI Provence. Trash cans, bicycles, and scooters had been placed in front of the gates. In Aix-en-Provence, several dozen students gathered in front of the Georges-Duby high school, located in Luynes. A meeting with the principal was scheduled for later that morning.
The students mobilized at Georges-Duby presented their action as a protest and a gesture of solidarity with suburban high schools. The movement thus extends beyond the two schools in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, but the available information does not allow for the conclusion that blockades are taking place throughout the entire Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region.
Demands regarding resources and courses
The Union of High School Students (USL) is demanding the replacement of absent teachers, more resources, and decent learning conditions. The organization is also calling on the Ministry of National Education to meet with its representatives and is encouraging continued protests on Thursday, October 1st.
For students and families in Marseille and the Luynes area, the immediate consequence concerns access to schools and the running of classes. However, the information published Wednesday morning did not specify the extent of the disruptions or the duration of the blockades. A meeting with the headmaster at Georges-Duby school had been announced, but no outcome was indicated in the available report.
A mobilization that is expected to continue
According to ICI Provence, the movement began the previous week in the Île-de-France region before spreading. The USL (Union of High School Students) had called on high school students to join the public sector workers’ strike on Tuesday. The announced continuation of the strike on Thursday is a union call: it does not confirm that the two high schools in Bouches-du-Rhône will be blockaded again. The evolution of the mobilization and its effects on classes therefore remain to be monitored school by school.
Source: News – ICI Provence
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