France to send 3,000 teachers to crisis schools amid riots

French Minister of Education Edouard Geffrey announced the transfer of about three thousand teachers to educational institutions with a critical situation. The decision comes amid ongoing unrest among high school students blocking schools across the country.

The head of the department told TF1 that the target institutions were identified thanks to a special monitoring program. The initiative of the Ministry, launched a year ago, first worked at the beginning of the current academic year.

According to Geffrey, 114 lyceums were given the “red” status of problem, another 400 received the “orange” status. To stabilize the situation, directors were allowed to hire teachers beyond the established limits.

Schools will also be given early funding to pay for hundreds of thousands of hours of extra workload under a "teacher pact." Managers will be able to recruit volunteers to replace absent colleagues with guaranteed pay.

The total cost of emergency measures will be several million or even tens of millions of euros by the end of the year. These steps were in response to student demands to improve learning conditions and increase funding for the industry.

Protests in France have been going on since mid-September. About half a million people, including students, supported the protests on Tuesday. According to the Student Union (Union Étudiante), rallies were held throughout the republic.

In Paris, police used sound grenades and tear gas to disperse the protesters. Similar clashes also took place in Strasbourg, Marseille, Rennes, Toulouse.

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