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Riot policemen stand near burnt paper and fire extinguishers in the courtyard of the Sorbonne University in Paris, Saturday, March 11.

Sorbonne reopens after riots end

PARIS (AP) — Paris’ historic Sorbonne University reopened Monday, April 24, after six weeks’ closure during France’s massive student protests.

The Left Bank university, with its column-lined facade and dome, became a symbol of the protests when students occupied it March 8-11. Riot police stormed the building to dislodge them, and the university has since been shut while workers carried out $677,000 in repairs.

The university had to replace the fire alarm mechanism and repair the heating system. University president Jean-Robert Pitte said the protests damaged more than the building.

“It’s above all the university’s image abroad that was damaged,” he said. “That’s irreparable, much more so than broken windows.”

During much of the protest movement, the Sorbonne’s facade was barricaded behind a high metal screen where police with water canons were entrenched.

At the height of the two-month-long crisis, nearly 60 of the country’s 84 universities were shut down or had classes disrupted or canceled. Monday marks the end of spring break for many French universities, including those in Paris.

When Sorbonne students return to class, they will be asked to show their student cards to enter the building. Officials fear radical demonstrators may try to renew protests.

There will be police surveillance,” said Sorbonne official Nicolas Boudot. “The goal is to have a calm and peaceful return to class.”

The protest movement has dwindled since the government announced last week it was scrapping the youth jobs measure that would have made it easier to hire and fire young workers.