There was a tense standoff outside a French school Thursday as protesters massed to campaign against a planned anti-sexism initiative in which male pupils have been invited to attend classes wearing skirts, reports FRANCE 24.
Around 150 members of the “Manif pour Tous” (Protest for All) group – which began as a movement against France’s legalisation of gay marriage last year – gathered outside the Lycée Clémenceau school in the city of Nantes in west France on Thursday afternoon, AFP reported.
They were met by a group of around one hundred students and left-wing campaigners who, standing opposite, chanted “no fascists in schools” and “equality”.
Video footage showed one student climbing a wall where, to cheers from supporters, he took off his trousers and put on a skirt.
Eggs were thrown in the direction of the Manif pour Tous protesters, reported AFP, while a few scuffles between the two groups broke out before the demonstrators were dispersed.
The standoff was the result of a controversial anti-sexism and pro-equality initiative in which male pupils at 27 high schools belonging to the “Academy of Nantes” education authority will have the option of wearing skirts to school this Friday, May 5.
Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.