A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Tens of thousands of high school students in France have been protesting for the past two weeks. They say their facilities are decrepit, the classrooms are overcrowded and there aren't enough teachers. The movement started peacefully, but there have been some intense scenes of violence in the past few days. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley is covering this from Paris. Eleanor, why did these protests turn violent?
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Well, why they've turned violent depends on who you ask. The far right blames the students and, of course, the government. And it says what's needed is more authority. And we have seen footage on the news of trash cans, vehicles, even schools being set on fire and young people facing off with police, some of them masked. And there are charges also that troublemakers from outside the schools have infiltrated the student movement in many places and turned it more violent.
MARTÍNEZ: So how violent has it become?
BEARDSLEY: Well, yeah. Two hundred and fifteen students have been injured since the beginning of the protests, some 6,000 arrested, though most have been let go. Those injuries were mostly accidents like running and falling. But others are blaming the escalation of violence on the police.
And yesterday, there were two events that really shocked the public. A 15-year-old had his hand blown off by a tear gas canister that exploded. And experts say this is a special kind of tear gas that ejects plastic pieces, and it's used when the police are encircled. And according to a criminologist, Alan Bower, who was on television, this type of tear gas is banned in other countries, but not in France.
And another kid whose parents have been interviewed on TV got shot in the face up close by tear gas, and it shattered his teeth. And they're devastated. And they say he's asking - what did he do wrong? And these incidents and eight others since the beginning of the protests are being investigated by authorities who look at police abuse.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, what's happening next for the student movement?
BEARDSLEY: Well, everyone is calling for calm, from the right to the left. Today, there's massive student marches around the country, one in central Paris I'm going to go to. And unions are calling on their members to wear white armbands and march with the students to prevent violence. Far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon accuses the police of the mayhem. Here he is speaking.
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JEAN-LUC MELENCHON: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: "They think they incarnate order," he says, "but how is it order to beat people? I'm ashamed when I see this vision of my country." He said, "these are young people, so of course, they do stupid things. But they're just trying to be heard." You know, many people, though, blame Melanchon and his far-left party, France Unbowed, for encouraging the students.
MARTÍNEZ: Have you spoken to any of those students?
BEARDSLEY: I have. I went yesterday to the Lycee Turgot in central Paris, which was closed, along with 500 other schools in the city.
(CROSSTALK)
BEARDSLEY: I met a group of 15-year-olds. They had blockaded their school with dozens of plastic trash cans and homemade barriers, as is the tradition. There were signs up saying things like, tear gas criminals, not minors. And I spoke with Emile Varsakin (ph). Here he is. And we called his father, who gave permission for him to be on NPR.
EMILE VARSAKIN: The politicians - they're always trying to put money in the weapons, the army and everything. But they don't invest in us. We are the future. They have to invest in us so that we can lead the country, you know?
BEARDSLEY: So anyway, these kids and others in well-off neighborhoods whose schools aren't so bad - they're still blockading. They're still out there protesting - they say in solidarity with students in the suburbs and rural areas where schools are in worse condition. There's a long history of student protest movements in France, and there's a lot of enthusiasm and solidarity for this one.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Eleanor Beardsley in Paris. Eleanor, thanks.
BEARDSLEY: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GRADUATE")
THIRD EYE BLIND: (Singing) Can I graduate? Can I graduate? Echo fading, we can't let go. She goes walking by... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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