French Students Continue Demonstration Despite Ban

Moscow (ANTARA) – Hundreds of students demonstrated near the Pantheon in Paris on Tuesday, despite the authorities’ ban on protests in the city centre, according to a RIA Novosti correspondent.

Around 200 people gathered in the streets around the Pantheon, although police prevented demonstrators from approaching the monument.

At the end of October, the Paris Administrative Court rejected students’ challenge to the ban on demonstrations in the city centre. Students were only permitted to hold protests on the outskirts of the capital.

Tuesday’s demonstration proceeded peacefully. Police officers in full riot gear were on duty at the scene but did not disperse the crowd. Around 10 police vehicles were also stationed near the protest area.

The wave of demonstrations in France began in mid-September, when secondary school students in the outskirts of Paris took to the streets to demand improvements to school conditions. Residents later joined the protests, objecting to rising prices, and demonstrations spread to other parts of France.

The largest action took place during a nationwide demonstration on 17 October. According to the French Interior Ministry, around 550,000 people took part.