“The idea of a potential blockage of my school makes me sick,” said a principal, on condition of anonymity. As the protest against the pension reform rages, 24 high schools were disrupted in France on Tuesday, with 14 blockages, according to a police source. The organization La Voix lycéenne claims that nearly 150 high schools were blocked on the same day.
These blockages of high schools, if they remain a minority given the number of establishments (3,750 high schools in France), occur regularly. They are generally linked to a news item: “In 2006 to reject the first employment contract (CPE), in 2013 to protest against the expulsion of Leonarda, in 2014 to rebel against the death of Rémi Fraisse, in 2016 against the Labor law, in 2018 against the reform of the high school…”, lists Bruno Bobkiewicz, secretary general of the National Staff Union Department of National Education (SNPDEN).
“Sometimes 10 students are enough to block 2,000”
Actions that take place in establishments located in cities rather than in rural areas. The names of certain high schools often come up in TV reports on the blockades. This is the case of Voltaire, Turgot, Racine in Paris, Bréquigny in Rennes, Faidherbe and Fénelon in Lille, François Mauriac in Bordeaux… “There is a kind of mythology around protest high schools that persists. They may be attracting more politicized high school students,” says Robi Morder, a political scientist and specialist in high school student movements.
These high school blockages are all the less controllable upstream as they do not always come from high school student unions. “Most often, it’s a dozen students who try to mobilize others through social networks. They don’t even necessarily make an GA before launching, ”observes the political scientist. “Sometimes 10 students are enough to block 2,000,” adds Bruno Bobkiewicz.
“We remind them that it is prohibited by law”
When they are aware that something is going on, the principals try to dissuade the pupils. “We remind them that it is prohibited by law and that it is an obstacle to free movement”, underlines Bruno Bobkiewicz. Some heads of establishments even make threats of disciplinary sanctions, in particular for lack of attendance. “We also give them spaces for discussion, allowing them to hold general meetings,” explains the principal.
But if the students persist in their project, the headteachers warn the police: “This allows the police to remove objects that could block access to the establishment (trash cans, barriers, etc.), describes Bruno Bobkiewicz. On D-Day, they still try to convince the students to back off. “We are on the sidewalk at 7 a.m. to dialogue,” explains Bruno Bobkiewicz. And if the blockade starts all the same, the principals also make sure to warn the parents. “Some are flabbergasted and very annoyed. Others support their child’s initiative. »
Concerns for the safety of students and staff
If the principals wet their shirts so much to try to counter these blockades, it is because they fear overflows. “They are afraid of accidents, serious jostling, fire,” notes Robi Morder. Especially since external elements often come together. “When I was headmaster in Saint-Denis, young people from outside the establishment and wearing hoods had set fire to garbage cans in front and threw projectiles in the direction of the staff. They had come to do battle, ”recalls Bruno Bobkiewicz. In 2017, in a press release, the SNPDEN denounced the damage observed after blockages: “Personnel are regularly injured (about ten last year [en 2016], two already in less than a week), mainly management staff and almost exclusively female. »
“Some headteachers also fear that their legal liability will be engaged in the event of an accident”, observes Robi Morder. Because there is a legal vagueness on what is happening around the school. But it is also the repercussions on the image of the establishment that they fear. “They are clearly afraid for their reputation. Because they are afraid of passing to the rectorate for heads of establishments who do not know how to run their high school, ”estimates the political scientist.
The fears of the executive
They are not the only ones to fear the consequences of these blockades. “Any government knows that if the youth slips, it can be dangerous in the media and politically”, analyzes Bruno Bobkiewicz. “The authorities are still afraid that the social movements will aggregate and amplify the mobilization against a reform”, adds Robi Morder.
Strong reactions to certain blockades can also leave traces. In 2018, the situation had degenerated at Arago high school, in Paris, high school students having entered the establishment. The police had intervened and students had been locked in for several hours in a bus before being taken into custody. This had angered the parents.
The same year, 150 high school students were arrested, filmed kneeling and hands on their heads in Mantes-la-Jolie (Yvelines). And this after violence that had taken place on the sidelines of an attempt to block a high school. Images that had created a political controversy when the subject of police violence was at the heart of the news. “The opposition often seizes on this kind of event to hit the executive,” notes Robi Morder.