The headmistress of the school said people inside “felt in danger”.
A fire erupted outside the school (Image: BFMTV)
Protests continue in Paris, with a school reportedly targeted by rioters this morning. Teachers and pupils were reportedly trapped inside a school in the capital after rioters set fire to its entrance during ongoing student protests across France. Horrifying footage taken outside the Vauquelin High School in Paris this morning showed protestors setting fire to the school’s entrance. Glass can seen to be smashed with flames licking doors to the school. Carole Zerbib, Vauquelin High School’s headteacher, alerted police after the first fire was reported at around 7.50 am local time (6.50 BST), prompting firefighters to race to the scene.
Ms Zerbib recalls pupils and teachers hearing “banging on the door” with the smell of gasoline then filling the air. She said: “When we heard the banging on the door, the attempts to set fire, and the smell of spilled gasoline, we thought: What’s going to happen to us? We felt in danger.”
The headmistress claims “it wasn’t students from the school” who tried to set fire to the door.”
“It was an outside group, organised and determined”, Ms Zerbib said. Intially students and staff are were confined inside the building. Approximately 100 students were reportedly evacuated from the school following the incident.
Local media reports that demonstrators were shooting fireworks at firefighters as they battled the blaze. “It was very violent and happened very quickly,” Ms Zerbib said, adding that the attack lasted 15-20 minutes.
“It was terrible for students who witnessed this outburst of violence”, she said. Six people have been arrested, reports French newspaper Le Parisien. Jean-Didier Berger, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior, says the attempted arson of a door is “a criminal act”.
Protestors set fire to the school’s entrance (Image: BFMTV)
The school is one of hundreds affected by violence that has plagued France since last week, disrupting over 700 schools. Meanwhile, a 15-year-old student “had his hand torn off” during a demonstration near Béhal high school in the French city of Lens, reports Le Parisien.
During a press conference François-Xavier Lauch, prefect of Pas-de-Calais, said: “Unfortunately, and I regret this, we had a high school student who was seriously injured during a demonstration. “A 15-year-old high school student whose hand was torn off.” The teenager has been rushed to a hospital in Lille and is in a stable condition, said the prefect.
He added that this is a “very serious matter” and that an investigation has been launched. The French academic year has descend into nationwide student protests and turmoil with protestors objecting to a lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings.
Hundreds of schools have been affected by the nationwide protests (Image: Getty)
The protests began last week Paris and have since spread across the country, with major cities including Montpellier, Nantes and Marseille affected. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 1,747 people were arrested on Friday.
This morning the Ministry of National Education announced that 413 schools have been disrupted today. The ministry said: “On Friday, October 2, at the same time, this figure was 564 establishments, a decrease of 27%. On Thursday, this figure was 610 establishments, a decrease of 32%.
“This steady decline is part of a sustained dialogue with high school students since last week, both at the academic and national levels.” In Essonne, a department in the Île-de-France region of France, 42 schools are closed with classes being held remotely.
Meanwhile, more than 60 schools across the Île-de-France region have been damaged since student protests began, according to regional authorities. The cost of the damage is estimated at 7 million euros.