Description: High school students in France have mobilized nationwide, organizing protests against the conditions of the high school education in France. Violent demonstrations were reported in Marseille and Nantes with 340 protests reported all over the country. University students joined the protests blocking several campuses in Paris, while up to 160 schools were reported to be closed on Thursday by the high school students. Macron’s government has largely blamed the far – left France Unbowed party, whose leader, Jean Luc Melenchon is a presidential candidate in next year’s election in France. The party has denounced the allegations stating that France Unbowed called for peaceful demonstrations. French Prime Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, has scheduled emergency meeting of ministers to address the crisis while Education Minister, Edouard Geffray, stated that he scheduled a meeting with representatives from the parent and student associations across the country.
Impact: The student protests are likely only the prelude towards what’s setting to be a prolonged domestic political and economic crisis in France. Considering the rapid spiral of violence and the nationwide scale of the protests, the students are likely to continue causing disruptions and civil unrest in the short to mid – term period. The continuation of the protests is likely to cause further political divisions in the country and amalgamate with other domestic political and economic issues. The country’s issues with its budget deficit, the rapid rise of the far – right National Rally and now civil unrest are likely to intensify in the short to mid – term period. With Macron’s mandate expiring in May next year, the country faces existential election which would likely determine France’s internal political and economic dynamics and its positional weight within the EU and NATO as one of the pivotal countries in the organizations.