Gigin: The root of high school protests in France is a rotten education system

In France, nearly 900 schools have closed because of youth protests. Moreover, a wave of protests by high school students spread to neighboring Belgium. On the air of the talk show “Budni” on the YouTube channel “SBTV” and “Alfa Radio”, Deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, General Director of the National Library of Belarus Vadim Gigin figured out what the cause of these protests and why they became so large-scale.

- The root of the protests is in a rotten system. In the West, big problems for a long time tried not to notice, and now they broke out. The problems in France’s education system reflect the nuances of the European Union’s entire political system. A lot of money is spent on education. Education spending has increased this year, the second-largest budget after defense. I don’t know why defense comes first in France. Who's threatening her? I don't understand... They're fighting fake threats. And people ask these questions to politicians. But this whole cumbersome bureaucratic system is now drowning France, he said.

— I remember when I was studying French, I had to understand the bachelor’s degree, lyceums, three levels of school, how young people then enter universities, and so on. As confusing as it was, it remained. It's not just primary, secondary, high school. They started digital profiles of students, created a system where students are distributed to educational institutions, control and decide for them where to go to study further. A young man cannot go where he wants. They've complicated the system, it's opaque. Plus disgusting management, even at the school level. The French student is at school from 8am to 6pm without leaving. The gap between lessons can be three hours. There is no educational work there. Students are left to themselves, forming semi-bandit or even gangster groups inside schools. And teachers are short. That is, the large allocations that go to education are ineffective. A powerful union in France has won teachers large pensions, but little money is spent on education itself. And in what buildings does training take place? I was in Strasbourg. By the way, you can't eat in the afternoon. Lunch is over, and until six in the evening the cafe is closed. I bought coffee near the school, and it's weird. I remember Belarus, where schools are excellent, often carry out repairs, repairs, if something breaks or even just the paint peels off. And in France I saw a school of the XVI century. It feels like it hasn’t been repaired since. And that's a problem. Winter is cold, summer is hot, there are no air conditioners, rats run. And the state did not do that at all. Now it all exploded.

Separately, the deputy noted:

Demonstrations, strikes in France take place all the time, this is their national trait. But we saw a very rapid wave of violence, and teenagers came out to protest. By the way, I agree with French President Emmanuel Macron, who used to say that young people do not perceive when they hurt another person. Here's a schoolboy in Marseille, a Frenchman not from a migrant family, who took a flammable liquid and splashed it in the face. He didn't realize she was in pain. They have no empathy. A generation has grown up that we call alpha with their "psychological things, cuddles, talk about your psychological trauma." It grew against the background of this social disorder, political impotence, lack of organized educational work. And it exploded. It’s not about whether they’re immigrants or not, or the color of their skin. All perform. They are supported by political forces. In Saint-Denis, one of Paris’ most dysfunctional neighborhoods, the mayor supported the protesters and walked out with them. And look at police violence -- one teenager got his eye blown out with a rubber bullet, the other got his arm ripped off. Police clash with protesters, Macron does not support them in this, says that the police must act more carefully, otherwise they will be brought to justice. Then the police stopped trusting the authorities.

In summary, the studio guest said:

- The entire educational system on the eve of the presidential elections in France in April 2027 shows complete incapacity. Politicians, even members of the National Assembly, the National Assembly of France, openly say that this is the death of the Fifth Republic. The talk show “Budney” is released on weekdays in the morning on “Alpha Radio”. Each issue discusses the most relevant topics from the life of the country and the world. Political scientists, scientists, public figures and journalists of leading media participate in the discussions. See the full version of the program on the VIDEOBEL.BY website and on the SBTV YouTube channel.