Thousands protest against France education reforms

PARIS - Thousands of students and teachers took to the streets here Friday to protest against French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s education reforms, Xinhua reported.

Demonstrations were also held in major cities like Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse and Nice after eight major teachers’ unions called for a countrywide protest.

Police said about 1,000 people participated in the demonstrations in Paris, but according to educational unions around 10,000 protesters took part.

Teachers from colleges, vocational and secondary schools participated.

The unions complain about job cuts and strict academic assessments in hiring teachers. Education Minister Luc Chatel recently proposed to recruit retirees and students to substitute absent teachers.

According to education ministry, 12.9 percent of teachers across the country stopped work Friday, but a high school teachers’ union said 50 percent of high school and college teachers participated.