Cotswold student caught in Parisian riots (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Cotswold student caught in Parisian riots

A COTSWOLD student has been caught up in political protests in Paris just months after her sister dodged tear-gas attacks and street shootings in Bolivia.

Eleonore Vandoorne, 20, from Quenington and a former pupil at Westonbirt School, Tetbury, is currently in Paris on a placement from the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

But her work has been seriously disrupted by strikes and violent protests in the Sorbonne region of the French capital.

She has not been to lectures for over a week and the strike at her university is not expected to end before Easter.

Largely the protests, which are concerned with unpopular new employment laws for young people, have been peaceful.

But riot police stormed the Sorbonne at the weekend using tear gas and batons to clear the main building of 150 protesters.

Arrests were made and Eleonore told the Standard on Tuesday at least one student and one policeman are in a coma following the violence.

The troubles bear a marked similarity to the Bolivian protests last summer which Eleonore's sister Saskya witnessed.

Then, indigenous workers, such as coca farmers and miners, were protesting about the management of the country's natural resources.

Saskya, 18, was on her gap year when she was caught up in violent protests.

In France, however, the problems stem from new laws that allow companies to offer job contracts to people under 26 that make it easier for them to be fired at short notice.

Eleonore, whose father is French, said: "The main building at Sorbonne has been complete havoc. I think everyone is psyching each other up.

"There have been shop windows smashed and roads blocked off, so a lot of places are losing business.

"It's mostly at night when it gets violent - it is all very organised during the day and the students are not encouraging violence."

Eleonore, who is studying art history and literature, says only those visiting the library or taking exams have been able to get into her department but no-one is against the protests.

"No-one seems to be behind the government policy," she said. "Students are doing so much research and finding details of ways that they might be able to catch them (the government) out.

"The protesters are not only in it for themselves but also for younger people at school who cannot protest. I do really feel for them."

French unions and students have decided to hold a day of strikes and protests on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said the new law was important in the fight against unemployment and was a positive step forward in a changing world.

But critics across Europe argue the legislation, which currently only applies to small firms, could make it even harder for young people to find a permanent job.