On 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 about twenty establishments, including the universities of Montpellier, Besançon, Le Havre, Nanterre, Rouen or Grenoble, or the institutes of political studies of Bordeaux and Strasbourg, or even one of the two campuses from 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 union The high school voice of 200 schools blocked.
.@ColChampion, pdt @lavoixlyceenne_ ➡️ “We don’t want to work so late when we don’t need to! We ref… https://t.co/MXNZ4hXhMi
“You put us 64 we give 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 8e district, with signs such as “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 3e district, about fifty young people blocked the entrance in peace. Just like at Lycée Sophie-Germain (4e district), where about 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 placards hung on the railings, one could read “you put us 64 we give you May 68” or “Subway work tomb”. “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.
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