Student protests continue to sweep the country, with more than 200 people detained during Saturday\u2019s clashes with police<\/p>\n
French police are still searching for a suspect who stabbed a university vice president near his office on Friday.
\nAlthough investigators have not established a link between the attack and the ongoing nationwide student protests, more than 80 school principals and deputy principals have been injured amid unrest surrounding the demonstrations since mid-September.
\nAccording to French media, the attack occurred at around 7:45 PM at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), a public research university near Paris. The victim was working in his office when he heard a noise in the hallway. Believing it was a cleaner, he stepped outside to greet him but was confronted by a hooded man wearing a surgical mask.
\nThe assailant attacked the vice president with a bladed weapon, leaving him with non-life-threatening injuries to his head and hand. The victim managed to escape into a nearby office and lock the door, while the attacker fled the scene.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
600,000 hit French streets in growing protests against Macron\u2019s policies (VIDEO)<\/p>\n
UVSQ President Loic Josseran condemned the attack \u201cin the strongest possible terms\u201d and urged the public to respect his injured colleague\u2019s privacy.
\n\u201cNo violence is acceptable. The state stands alongside universities, their leadership, and their staff,\u201d Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste wrote on X. Baptiste later told TF1 that the victim had expressed concern that his assault could be \u201cexploited by extremists.\u201d
\nAccording to Le Parisien, UVSQ has been affected by repeated campus blockades, prompting administrators to call in police. Around 20 disgruntled students sought a meeting with the university president on November 9 but were turned away because he was absent.
\nStudents across France have been demanding better learning conditions, including more teachers and greater funding for education. Their protests have drawn support from public-sector unions and other demonstrators protesting the rising cost of living.
\nAround 106,000 people protested across France on Saturday, according to the Interior Ministry, while organizers claimed 200,000. Police detained at least 219 people as clashes erupted in several cities, including Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Montpellier. Ten officers suffered minor injuries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Student protests continue to sweep the country, with more than 200 people detained during Saturday\u2019s clashes with police French police are still searching for a suspect who stabbed a university…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41155,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t