Youth mobilization continues. At the initiative of several organizations, including student unions (UNEF, Alternative and FAGE) and La Voix lycéenne, blockages, often partial, took place on Thursday March 9 in several high schools and universities in France. On this day of youth action against pension reform, the student union L’Alternative counted in the morning blockages in around twenty establishments, including the universities of Montpellier, Besançon, Le Havre, Nanterre, Rouen or Grenoble, or the institutes of political studies in Bordeaux and Strasbourg, or even one of the two campuses of the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Lyon.
In Strasbourg, three university buildings were blocked on Thursday, according to the university, including the one that houses Science Po. Classes are done remotely. In Lille, for the second day in a row, the Moulins campus of the university was blocked by 50 to 100 students with banners and drums, depending on the faculty, where lessons are also done remotely.
As for high schools, the Ministry of Education reported 15 establishments completely blocked and 7 partially blocked, and the La Voix lycéenne union reported 200 blocked high schools.
“You put us 64 on you May 68”
In Paris, where young people are called to demonstrate this afternoon between Saint-Lazare station and Place de la République, around fifty young people blocked the entrance to the Racine high school in the 8th arrondissement this morning, with signs such as that “16-64 is a beer, not a career” or “Be young and shut up”, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). At the Victor-Hugo high school, located in the 3rd arrondissement, around fifty young people quietly blocked the entrance. Just like at Lycée Sophie-Germain (4th arrondissement), where around thirty students partially prevented access.
In Lilas (Seine-Saint-Denis), around thirty young people blocked the entrance to the Paul-Robert high school with trash cans. On signs hung on the railings, one could read “you put us 64 on you May 68” or “Subway job tombeau”. “We are mobilizing against this pension reform, which, even if we are very young, will eventually affect us,” Nino, 15, a second-year student, told AFP.
In Rennes, several high schools, such as Jean-Macé, Emile-Zola and Bréquigny, were blocked. Students from Joliot-Curie high school also blocked traffic on a roundabout with trash cans and fences. On the side of Lyon, young people are also called to demonstrate in the street, as in Paris.
