French students protest, British students don't — and the reason goes back to childhood

French students take to the streets. British students stay home. The difference is not laziness — it is education. In France, children learn early about the revolutionary roots of their nation. They learn what the state owes its citizens. These lessons stay with them for life. Young British people have plenty to be angry about: crushing student debt, private-school privilege, and a housing market they cannot enter. Yet unlike their French counterparts, they have little tradition of turning that frustration into collective action. The writer grew up in France as a Briton. For years, they have watched French friends do something British friends never seem to: protest. The French national anthem, La Marseillaise, calls citizens to arms: "Form your battalions! Let's march, let's march!" In France, that revolutionary spirit is not a thing of the past. *Kitty Sayers is a master's student in journalism.*