French PM and Mélenchon Clash Over Student Protests as Election Looms

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon exchanged sharp criticism on social media Monday over high school students blockading classes and calling for a nationwide expansion of their protest movement for more resources.

The dispute underscored an increasingly combative political atmosphere before a presidential election next spring, with France's public finances adding to the pressure on the government.

Politicians across the spectrum are hunting for issues that connect with voters. Student complaints about deteriorating schools, teacher shortages and heavy class schedules have become the latest cause taken up by some presidential hopefuls.

Lecornu is simultaneously trying to gather enough public and political backing to push a 2027 state budget through a divided parliament. President Emmanuel Macron's government faces opponents who are largely unwilling to accept proposed spending cuts while rising energy costs and other expenses strain household budgets.

Mélenchon, 75, a veteran anti-capitalist firebrand, came third in the 2022 presidential election and fourth in 2017 and 2012. He hopes to move past the first round of voting on April 18 and reach the May 2 run-off. Younger voters could prove crucial to his chances. Macron is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term.

On Monday, Mélenchon defended the school protesters after Lecornu accused officials from his far-left France Unbowed party of encouraging the scattered demonstrations.

The protests began at schools in the Paris area last week, leading to arrests, and then spread to other regions. In the southern Alpes-Maritimes region, police arrested 10 high school students on Monday over allegations of setting fires, throwing projectiles and committing other violent acts that injured two students, the regional government said.

Mélenchon accused Lecornu's government of repressing students with "ferocity" and "an unmistakably racist undertone." He posted, "Don't touch our young people," and urged France Unbowed supporters to get involved "wherever you can."

Lecornu replied that the racism accusation "is an insult." He wrote that students have a right to safety, staff have a right to protection, and police officers have a right to respect when carrying out their duties. He added that condemning violence and those who attack high school students should require less effort from Mélenchon than smearing those who protect them, and should be easier than fanning the flames.