Are student protests being manipulated ahead of France's presidential election?

Thousands of students in France have been protesting for over three weeks, barricading entry to high schools and taking their grievances to the streets. The protests are expected to continue this Saturday, with hundreds of new demonstrations announced across France.

The French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has suggested that student anger is being manipulated as politics heats up ahead of next year's presidential election. This claim has been made in the context of a long history of protests in France, including the 'yellow vest' movement, which demonstrated against cost-of-living hikes for over a year from 2018.

Jérôme Rodrigues, a prominent 'yellow vest' activist, has used Instagram to encourage people to join Saturday's demonstrations. He has stated that the protests should give a voice to those who 'want to be able to live decently, no longer have to count every cent, and no longer have to choose between eating and driving'.

The protests in France are taking place against a backdrop of social unrest, high government borrowing costs, and a deeply divided French parliament. The country has also seen a revolving door of exasperated French prime ministers over the last five years, all claiming to want to reduce their country's public debt.

The French passion for protest is legendary in Europe, with a history of demonstrations and riots. The current student protests are part of this tradition, and their impact on the upcoming presidential election remains to be seen.