French schoolchildren have been treated like violent criminals – for telling the truth | Rokhaya Diallo
To protest against the shameful conditions in some French schools is entirely legitimate. The government’s response is not As a secondary school pupil in 1994, I took part in protests against a reform that would have allowed French employers to pay young people below the minimum wage. Our campaign was successful, but if we had had to face the terrifying police response unleashed on student protesters in France over recent weeks, I would have stayed at home.
A 14-year-old boy, Eden, suffered a fractured jaw and had teeth knocked out after a police teargas grenade struck him in the face. Sixteen-year-old Maël lost the sight in one eye allegedly after being struck by a shot from an LBD, a form of rubber-bullet launcher. Evan, 15, had his hand blown off in an explosion involving a police stun grenade.
And in Dunkirk, a police SUV is alleged to have driven repeatedly at groups of secondary school pupils, as an officer could be heard saying: “Come closer, we’ll smash their fucking faces in.” Accounts from children left terrified by brutal treatment in police custody describe traumatic experiences with severe psychological and physical consequences.
Read in depth: Politics
UK plans law requiring salaries in job adverts
The government says it will bring forward legislation as soon as possible and urges employers to publish pay now, while the scope and enforcement remain unsettled.
Democratic lawmakers call for data center moratorium and AI pause
After the midterms, Bernie Sanders urged a national data center moratorium, while Yassamin Ansari said pausing AI development should be a priority for the new House majority.
Sources and context
The GuardianSource headline and summary supplied via NewsData.io. First collected by NewsJaws on 2026-10-17. This is an automated news brief, not original NewsJaws reporting. Dates reflect the source publication. Feed delays may apply.