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France: Principal shot with firework mortar directly in face, then his school is set on fire in Rouen

Mass rioting and arson attacks reported across France due to student protests in predominately migrant-heavy neighborhoods

The entrance to Blaise Pascal High School was set on fire on Oct. 1.
By
- Remix News Staff -
6 Min Read

The principal of a French high school in Rouen was struck by a firework mortar and the school’s entrance was set on fire, resulting in a massive blaze, on Thursday. The arson attack is one of many targeting schools today, Oct. 1, which also saw mass violence, buses and fire trucks set on fire, and even a case being treated as attempted murder.

The latest incident in Rouen saw a student aim a firework mortar and hit the principal of the Blaise Pascal High School at the school gate shortly before 8 a.m., Paris Normandie reported. A video of the incident showed the principal being hit directly in the face and retreating into the school.

Burning trash bins were placed outside the entrance around the same time, producing heavy smoke and causing major fire damage at the doorway. Video of the blaze has also spread on social media.

Classes were canceled due to the violence. About 30 police officers were nearby, and at least one person was arrested at the school.

The Normandy education authority said the Blaise Pascal principal and the principal of Elisa Lemonnier High School in nearby Petit-Quevilly were both injured in the morning unrest and quickly treated by emergency services.

France burns: Migration-background students rampage across the country, teachers doused in gasoline, schools set on fire, and hundreds of arrests reported

The authority condemned “inadmissible attacks of unprecedented violence” against the two school leaders “on the sidelines of the mobilizations.”

The Seine-Maritime prefecture said five people were hurt in the department and that intrusions occurred at several schools. Authorities reported 14 arrests in Seine-Maritime on Thursday, which are included in the figure of 23 total arrests since Tuesday.

Fires and blockades were also reported at other schools in and around Rouen, including Marcel-Sembat High School in Sotteville-lès-Rouen, where bins and barriers burned and mortar shots were heard, and at Flaubert High School and Camille Saint-Saëns High School. In Le Havre, fires damaged entrances or streets outside several high schools, and at least two cars burned near one campus.

The clashes are part of high-school protests that began last week in the Paris region and have spread nationwide. However, what began as protests over overcrowded classes, missing teachers and poor facilities, has come to be described as race-fueled rioting predominantly in schools with large migrant populations.

Critics say the students’ response of burning down schools is especially contradictory when the students are supposedly claiming their schools are in poor condition and not well-maintained.

Earlier this week at Blaise Pascal, student Malo Leleu-Marret told Paris Normandie, “There is a lack of staff, we end up with 35 students per class in rooms that are too small.”

It is unclear how shooting the principal with a mortar and burning the school will help deliver a better teaching experience for students.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has said fireworks, fires, and violence near schools cannot be justified. Interior Ministry figures from earlier in the week showed over 650 arrests across France, most involving minors, along with injuries to officers, students, and school staff. Up to 50 officers were wounded and multiple teachers and staff were assaulted, including an incident today in Marseille, Oct. 1, in which saw students doused school leaders in gasoline. Police are reportedly treating the case as attempted murder.

Police continued to investigate the Rouen-area attacks Thursday as blockades persisted at multiple campuses.

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