A-Infos (en) France, UCL press release: Attal declares war on youth: they will not give in! (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The Prime Minister's latest announcements in Viry-Châtillon constitute 
an unprecedented attack against young people. In reaction to the death 
of a young person in a brawl, and under pressure from the media and 
leaders of the far right, Gabriel Attal unveiled a series of measures 
intended to restore "order and authority" to the school and in families. 
---- Among these measures, the addition of a mention in the Parcoursup 
files to sanction "protests and challenges to the authority of the 
school" on the part of "troublemakers". It is obvious that this mention 
is not intended to stop any "ultraviolence of young people" but to 
repress high school struggles, via a vicious mechanism: students 
considered "protesters" will pay the price of their commitment by seeing 
themselves fall on the waiting lists for the training courses they wish 
to join.

In addition, the government plans to impose incredible hours on middle 
school students, starting with the "sensitive zones": 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 
every day at school. That's 50 hours per week!

Finally, the level of police and judicial repression of young people is 
skyrocketing with several announcements: the financial responsibility of 
parents with regard to the "mischief" of their children, as well as new 
penalties: "educational work" (basically forced labor) to which minors 
under the age of 15 would be forced.

Far-right fantasies
These measures respond to far-right fantasies of "ultraviolent youth", 
fueled by images of the revolts of June 2023. They add to an explosion 
of reports on students for "radicalization" having led a certain number 
of students at the police station or in police custody while dialogue 
and trust break down with the teaching staff. We are also 20 years after 
the law of April 2004 banning the wearing of headscarves in high schools 
which constituted a first point of rupture and stigmatization of Muslim 
students with regard to instrumentalized secularism.

But what the reactionaries refuse to see is that this violence which 
does exist is the product of social violence exercised by a wild 
bourgeoisie. No one asks the question of understanding the origin of 
this violence. They are the direct result of budget cuts and the 
demolition of the school system orchestrated by the same government.

The State leaves only struggle as an option
What these announcements show is that those in power are terrified of 
young people. This social force that he is unable to control despite his 
numerous attempts (SNU, Parcoursup), he can only repress. Incapable of 
taking into account the aspirations of young people in ecological, 
social and democratic matters and deaf to any demands, the State leaves 
only struggle as an option.

What we young people need is more classes, teachers and staff, no 
uniforms or sanctions! And for these demands to move from words to 
reality, only the struggle will pay off in the face of an ever more 
authoritarian state. The middle and high schools of 93 show, through 
their exemplary mobilization, the way towards a freer school.

Libertarian Communist Union, April 23, 2024

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Attal-declare-la-guerre-a-la-jeunesse-elle-ne-se-laissera-pas-faire-10354
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe https://ainfos.ca/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en