French police clear university occupied by students protesters over education reforms
Xinhua,April 20, 2018 Adjust font size:
PARIS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- French police early Friday morning evacuated a university occupied by students weeks ago in anti-government protests, said French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb.
"Security forces ended the occupation of the 'Tolbiac' site. Law and order will be restored everywhere," he tweeted.
The site concerned was the rue de Tolbiac branch of Paris 1 university, southeast Paris. It had been occupied since March 26 by students who opposed a planned new selection system in higher education.
The university site would be closed for security reasons and restoration, the Interior Ministry said.h Paris police said the dawn operation to clear out 100 people "had happened calmly and without any incident" despite "few throws of projectiles."
One person was arrested for "insult and rebellion," the police added.
Students unhappy about changes in entry-selection criteria staged sit-ins and blockaded several universities in many French cities.
The movement coincided with a rolling strike at state-run SNCF rail operator, whose workers reject a government plan to open the sector to competition and end preferential terms of rail workers. Enditem