By Najete Michell
The French presidential election campaign for May 2027 is underway. Hundreds of thousands of school students have taken centre-stage in opposition to Macron’s austerity.
The movement started mid-September in the Quartiers Populaires high schools, which were already particularly underfunded.
But new cuts came in September when school students returned to school: there were 4,000 fewer teachers, and classes were more overcrowded than ever. The school buildings have suffered from chronic dilapidation over the last decade, with exposed wires, too few chairs and tables, and some high schools infested with rats.
The parents’ and teachers’ union have been fighting against these conditions for years without success. It is not surprising that they are supporting the present youth-led movement.
The youth revolt has to be placed in a bigger political context.
In June, students in particular suffered from the heat wave, especially during the exams. Despite all the warnings, Macron had done nothing to alleviate the effects of extreme temperatures: many school buildings are uninsulated against summer temperatures that reached 40° and in winter, with extremely cold weather. In addition, the drastic fall in people’s living standards is more acute for families in the popular quarters, in the suburbs.
Above all, the fear of the RN winning the next presidential election is particularly felt by all Black and Arab people.
Every day, RN propaganda is being promoted by the media. Black and Arab youth can hear this racist agenda in the mainstream media daily.
The Macron government prefers the RN to be in office over La France Insoumise. The latter will end austerity and put the interests of the people ahead of capital
Another trigger for the youth revolt is Palestine, as was shown by the number of Palestinian flags carried by the movement.
All of these ingredients make up the background for this massive youth rebellion shaking France.
The government has reacted with huge repression: the worst in many decades; worse than May 68. In a space of less than two weeks, 6,547 youths were arrested, and around 5,000 were put in 24-hour custody. These teenagers not only experienced police violence, but also many were subjected to racist insults by police officers.
Such high levels of violence and racism are reminiscent of what happened in countries colonised by France. This colonial and racist mentality is particularly strong among police officers, of whom a big proportion vote for the RN.
Readers of this article are encouraged to watch the video below, in which Margaret Kimberley speaks with Annick Metefia of the Paris-based Afrofeminist collective Mwasi. They discuss the leading role of Black and Arab youth in France’s growing resistance to austerity, systemic racism and police repression under Macron.
The video is an interview for Black Agenda Report, an independent US-based publication offering radical black perspectives on politics, racism and imperialism.