A lack of school funding and a shortage of teachers are behind the protests and riots at French high schools, say the news media. “Complaints from students about deteriorating schools, teacher shortages and heavy class schedules have become the latest cause embraced by some presidential hopefuls,” wrote the AP. Students are protesting long school hours, overheated classrooms, dilapidated buildings and staff absences, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP). Le Monde editorialized that the government is to blame for not listening to the students. Of the French public surveyed, 62% said students were justified in their protests. Protests reached more than 1,000 of France’s 3,700 high schools, called lycées.
But French schools have more money per pupil today than at any earlier time. Primary school classes averaged close to 30 pupils in the 1960s, nursery classes close to 40, and public primary school classes will average 21 this year, the lowest on record. In 1970, 20% of a generation earned the baccalauréat, the lycée diploma, whereas nearly 80% earn it today. Spending per pupil has risen 1.6% a year in constant euros since 1980. The French government spends 4.5% of gross domestic product on educational institutions, and Germany spends 3.7%.
