Post date: Nov 05, 2013 2:36:33 PM
Around 300 French high school students demonstrate in protest at the expulsion of a 15 year-old to Kosovo.
PARIS, FRANCE (NOVEMBER 5, 2013) (REUTERS) - Several hundreds of students demonstrated in Paris on Tuesday (November 5) over the expulsion of a schoolgirl to Kosovo a month ago.
15-year-old Leonarda Dibrani was taken off a school bus during a school outing by French police before she was deported back to Kosovo with her family.
The affair sparked demonstrations by high school students nation-wide with some turning violent.
But after a two-week holiday break, the students mobilisation seemed to have wind down with only between 300 and 400 students demonstrating in Paris' street, according to a Reuters journalist on the ground.
"I found it unacceptable the way Leonarda was deported. I agree with this demonstration because it's important to change the laws. I am very disappointed however by the small turnout despite the (high schools) blockages although I'm not for it really, but it's disappointing because it is even more important to be here today," high school student Anna Ouhayoun said.
Dibrani's expulsion after her family failed to obtain political asylum has tested French President Francois Hollande's ability to handle the issue of illegal migration, a source of increasing public frustration in France.