France: school protests escalate into violence

Commenting on the protests in Contrepoints, political scientist Nicolas Lecaussin criticises Bally Bagayoko, mayor of Saint-Denis from the radical left-wing La France Insoumise party, for echoing the pupils’ criticism:

“When he condones attacks on police officers and teachers in his town and describes those who have allegedly ‘failed to uphold the republican promise’ as the real culprits, he is not engaging in politics, he is conveying the message to young people in his town that the law is negotiable, depending on the merits of the cause. This is the definition of what the rule of law is not. … So on Monday, teenagers learned from their mayor – an elected representative of the people – that arson, vandalism and confrontations with the police can be justified if they serve a good cause.”