PARIS: On Saturday Oct 17, not far from Place de la Republique, the famed Parisian square where the allegorical statue of Marianne overlooks her country, hordes of people took to the streets. Thick clouds of tear gas masked the 110,000 protesters marching on Parisian cobblestones. Students, teachers, parents and even some firefighters protested with cardboard signs in outrage over France’s poor classroom conditions for students. All over France, they said, students are suffering from staffing shortages, classrooms lacking reliable electricity and enough chairs, plus dirty bathrooms.
While news outlets all over the world describe these protests as ‘riots’ and protestors are coined ‘looters,’ this Old School Catalyst reporter marched alongside protestors to capture what many U.S. news outlets fail to grasp about the protests.
The comradery and vigor of total strangers banded together for a cause is the very essence of democracy. Yes, fires erupted in Marseille and town halls were broken into. However, as the revolutionary Thomas Paine wrote in his late-18th century treatise, The Rights of Man, “From a small spark … a flame has arisen not to be extinguished. Without consuming… it winds its progress from nation to nation, and conquers by a silent operation.”
But the citizens of France are silent no longer.
According to the New York Times, people in Marseille broke into a government building and tipped over a bust of Marianne. These large protests are the culmination of weeks-long school closures in which high school students across France barricaded their schools to protest underfunding. Equal anger has bubbled in response to police tactics. According to the Times, “Prosecutors and a police watchdog are investigating at least 34 cases involving accusations of police misconduct during the protests. The cases include a 15-year-old boy whose left hand was ripped off, officials said, most likely by the explosion of a police stun grenade; and a 14-year-old boy maimed by a tear-gas grenade that an officer had fired at close range.”
The atmosphere along Saint Martin, a tree-lined waterway that connects the Bassin de la Villette to the River Seine, hummed with joy, passion and electricity. While eyes watered from tear gas and people shouted ‘courrez’ (run), there was a vibrant atmosphere of powerfulness and revolution. One sign read, ‘L’éducation ça coute un bras’ (Education Costs an Arm). Another read, ‘Sois jeune et tais toi ouvre la!’ (Be young and shut up speak up!). Protestors marched confidently, leading chants and raising signs. Many wore French flags draped as capes or dresses.
During a lunch break, protesters sat on the curb, their cardboard signs next to them. People passed around water bottles and ate homemade sandwiches.
A protest sign plastered all over city walls read ‘justice for all. A revolution for everyone.’ The statement is reminiscent of a manifesto called The Trail of Political Consciousness written by the fictional rebel Nemik from the television show Andor. In the manifesto, Nemik writes, “Remember this. Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly. Remember that the frontier for the rebellion is everywhere […] These moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire’s authority and then there will be too many. One single thing will break the siege.”
While Andor is a fictional show, its unwavering raw portrayal of rebellion, justice, autocracy, truth and sacrifice rings true to the very nonfictional French protests. As of Oct 18, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has defended police actions and imposed nationwide curfews. French President Emmanuel Macron, in his address to the nation on Oct 18, warned protestors not to escalate and that they should feel shame for their actions.
