🇫🇷🇩🇪🔥 European youth take to the streets: In France, more funding for education is being demanded; in Germany, the abolition of conscription

On Thursday, October 8, a new wave of school protests swept across France. According to the French Interior Ministry, 71,500 people took part in the demonstrations, including 24,500 in Paris. The young people are demanding increased education funding, a solution to the teacher shortage, and an overhaul of the university admissions system. The protests have been accompanied by clashes with police: 504 people were arrested in one day, and 48 police officers and gendarmes were injured. After a video recording emerged, a disciplinary investigation was opened in Paris because it showed a police officer striking an arrested demonstrator in the face with his knee.

Young people are also taking to the streets in Germany—but for different reasons: here, they are protesting against conscription and rearmament. Thus, on September 25, student strikes were held in more than 80 cities. On October 2, the youth action “Unzwingbar – Kein Bock auf Krieg und Wehrpflicht” (“Unzwingbar – No Desire for War and Conscription”) took place at the Brandenburg Gate. The organizers said that more than 20,000 people took part and demanded that more money be invested in education, healthcare, and social services rather than in armaments. A day later, new anti-war demonstrations were held in Berlin and Stuttgart. In Berlin alone, police counted 5,800 participants, while the organizers put the figure at more than 20,000.

While French students are demanding money for education, German students do not want to become soldiers. Although the reasons for the protests differ, young people in both countries are asking their governments the same question: Why are billions available for rearmament, while education and social needs have to be fought for in the streets?


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