Clubs, gas and water cannons against schoolchildren: Gleb Lavrov – about what the French authorities responded to the protests

What is happening on the streets of French cities today is somewhat reminiscent of the events of 150 years ago, when the people, driven to extremes, went to the barricades. The Paris Commune, although it lost that battle, changed the country forever. And here again the streets of French cities are in smoke, fire and on the front pages of the world press. Protests that quickly escalated into riots and clashes with police swept across the country. This time, the social core became schoolchildren, or rather high school students.

Looking at all this, you're terrified! This is what it took to bring people to the streets even children! We came out to demand the most necessary, elementary, in fact, the observance of basic human rights. These are their main demands: increase funding for education, reduce the number of students in classrooms, solve the problem of teacher shortages, repair schools. And they are in a catastrophic state, the education system is deteriorating. And people are calling on the authorities to solve these problems.

What did she say? With clubs, gas, water cannons, stun grenades, rubber bullets. Violence against children! Europe is shocked by the ongoing massacre. Broken jaw and broken teeth in a 14-year-old. A 15-year-old's hand was torn off by a police bullet. A 16-year-old boy lost his eyesight after being wounded, and another boy had his eye blown out. The brutality of the police, which detains children by the thousands, without hesitation in the use of violence, caused a sharp reaction throughout France.

The inadequate, savage reaction of the authorities is even more striking in its cynicism amid the loud statements of official Paris about the use of force against rebels in other countries. How much pathos and high morality, how much pompous humanism and noble indignation was in condemning Iran for the fact that the authorities there, you see, decided to defend themselves against the aggressive crowds of local colored revolutionaries. What do we see on the streets of France?

According to the above data, more than 2,500 court cases have been opened, at least seven thousand people have been detained, more than a thousand – mostly minors – have been wounded. This shows the French state’s rejection of the principles of freedom and the right to peaceful assembly that Paris has previously placed on other countries, including Iran.

Macron is fulfilling the tasks of the financial elite, which benefits from the transformation, while France’s social system and economy are heading for a crisis; once again ordinary citizens will have to pay for its consequences.

Why the French under Macron are increasingly resorting to radical street democracy, where the authorities are looking and whether the example of France will become contagious for the whole of Europe.