// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
School protests send shivers down French government's spine
Since the infamous protests of 1968, French governments have known the power of young people taking to the streets
It is a piece of wisdom that all French leaders take care to heed: young people on the street equals trouble.
Since the student protests of May 1968 – memorably described by President De Gaulle as chienlit (bed defecation, in other words chaos) – every government has run scared of angry French youth.
Why? Because youth movements are unpredictable and shapeless, often with no clear structure to negotiate with. Because when they protest, other groups join in.
Also: because as they're young, the public tends to sympathise. And because if the police mess up and cause injury or worse, then the consequences are incalculable. And presidential elections are only months away.
For all these reasons, when la jeunesse en colère (angry youth) is at the barricades governments tread very carefully indeed.
Right now, French teenagers are at the barricades and if they are not visibly angry (the mood is more excitement), they certainly have the government of President Emmanuel Macron in what Le Monde called on Friday "the cold sweats".
A movement that started nearly two weeks ago in the low-income Seine-Saint-Denis area of northern Paris has in the last few days spread across the country.
Live: Fires lit on streets across France after student protests force hundreds of schools to close
On Thursday – the high point so far – hundreds of lycées (where 15-18 year-olds finish their schooling) were being blockaded. On Friday, the situation had improved but around 400 lycées were closed in order to protect staff and students. Universities are beginning to join in.