May comes early for French school students!

The spirit of May 1968 was alive on the streets of France today, writes Christina Duval, as tens of thousands of school students took to the streets to defend France’s education system against Nicolas Sarkozy’s neo-liberal attacks. According to the organisers, 30-40,000 lycéens demonstrated in Paris alone. At the head of the demonstration, alongside the leaders of the two school students unions, was the secretary general of the teachers’ union, the FSU. This was the fifth demonstration by Parisian school students in two weeks, and was twice the size of the last demonstration held on Tuesday.

School students and teachers are angry over government plans to cut 11,000 teaching posts in autumn, with a further 20,000 per year going over the next 4 years, and to changes in secondary school qualifications which will lead to a reduction in academic quality and a reduction of available options for school students to study.

For some weeks now, a growing number of schools have been mobilising against the plans, particularly in the Paris region but also elsewhere, in Toulouse and Nice for example, with regular demonstrations in support of striking teachers. In some of these schools teachers have been on strike in the run up to national day of action called by teaching unions (called on a Wednesday when many schools are shut…) and have continued to strike since.

In those areas where the most militant action is taking place, inter-school committees comprising of teachers, school students and parents (organised in the FCPE – a national PTA type organisation) have been set up to coordinate action.

Just last December, school students joined university students engaged in strikes and occupations against university reforms. The combativity of young people in France must serve as an inspiration to French workers and beyond, just as it did in May 68. At the same time, the French left will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of this key moment in French history, a history which has the power to inspire these young inheritors of struggle to dare to dream of an alternative society. A dream that they have the power to put into action. The combination of struggle and exposure to ideas that challenge the bourgeoisie could prove to be explosive in the coming months, if the movement continues after the April holidays.

The Education minister has accused the lycéens of hysteria. Given the nature of the attacks on education – the effect on teachers’ working conditions given they are expected to work overtime to cover the shortfall in teaching staff, the continued problems of classes of more than thirty, the transformation of education to meet the demands of business – it is unlikely that these “hysterical” youth will calm down.

You can few a film of one of the earlier demonstrations here http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4y1en_manif-lyceens-grenoble-3-avril

Thu 10, April 2008 @ 21:05