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. Since then, the mobilisation has spread to thousands of “lycees”, or upper secondary schools, across the country.