The French authorities have estimated this Friday that there are about 6,900 detainees and more than a hundred workers in the education sector injured across the country in the context of student protests against cuts and the lack of resources allocated to public education.
So far, a total of 6,877 people have been placed in custody, of which 86% are minors, while 21 are already under administrative arrest awaiting trials against them.
In parallel, 2,376 people face possible charges through the criminal route, of which 21 have already been brought before a judge --15 adults and six minors--, according to data released by the Government.
The Minister of Education, Édouard Geffray, has indicated at a press conference that "the number of more than a hundred workers in the education system injured during the violence recorded in the context of the protests has been surpassed," without specifying an exact number, although he took the opportunity to thank the daily work of the teaching staff.
"They have been covering the vacancies as they could for two years and the work goes ahead every day. We have tripled short-term replacements. All of this, managing 440,000 people in secondary education and high school," he clarified, before emphasizing that, despite this, "a plan of action is owed to the students."
"Does this mean that everything has to be perfect? I don't know, but I will be updating the information regularly," he stated, while applauding "the student movement that allows young people to awaken and have political awareness so as not to be manipulated."
The French Minister of Education visited the Cachan Institute this Friday morning, in a suburb south of Paris, where he spoke with the students. "We will cover the vacancies throughout the next week," he assured. "I am glad that students can express what they think in a respectful and democratic manner. They do not need false promises," he emphasized.
New hires to reinforce the centers
In relation to the announcement made the day before about the immediate activation of thousands of substitute teachers as the first measure of some significance to try to contain the massive mobilizations of students and teachers, the minister defended the relevance of the initiative and specified that it will reach about 4,000 new teachers.
In this line, Geffray has confirmed that, in addition to the 3,024 substitute teachers that are being assigned at this moment, "several hundred additional teachers" will be incorporated to alleviate the lack of teaching staff. "With everything that is being put in place, we will probably approach 4,000 full-time," he declared.
The escalation of tension in France has led Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to express her "concern" about the "incidents" recorded on the French streets during the demonstrations, calling for "peaceful assemblies" and a "proportional use of force" by the deployed Police.
"We ask everyone to ensure that these protests are peaceful and that there is no disproportionate use of force during them. The right to free assembly must be respected," she stated at a press conference from Geneva.