Nationwide protests spread across France as ‘yellow vests’ set to join

Paris, France – Saturday is a day of many unknowns. That was how the French newspaper Le Monde described it as France braced for possible nationwide demonstrations bringing together high school students, trade unions and “yellow vest” activists.The protests began in mid-September at a high school in the Paris suburb of Creteil, where students took to the streets over dilapidated buildings, overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and what they see as a deeply unequal education system.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Presidential hopeful Melenchon joins France school protest marchlist 2 of 3France’s mounting debt: Is Europe next?list 3 of 3‘Boiling point’: Why students are protesting against Albania’s Edi Ramaend of listSince then, the mobilisation has spread to thousands of “lycees”, or upper secondary schools, across the country. It is now beginning to reflect broader anxieties in a country grappling with a combination of fiscal pressures, economic stagnation and mounting social discontent.Teachers, trade unions and university students have joined the movement.On Saturday, some “yellow vest” activists – remnants of the participants in the grassroots cost-of-living pr...