French high school protests: 'Mum if you see this it's for my future'

PRESS REVIEW: Monday, 5 October – more than 400 schools closed on Monday across France, as government fails to assuage the anger of protesting students. In other news, Boulder, Colorado takes on ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy, demanding billions for damage caused by wildfires. And, finally, we take a look at some of nature's most whimsical offerings.

"How to get out of the crisis?" read the front page of Le Parisien on Monday, as high school students are set to continue to blockading schools across France. The editorial suggests that the government may find itself waiting out the crisis, and hoping that rain forecasted for Thursday will send protestors indoors. Le Monde has printed an op-ed by a protestor saying these are not the actions of "out of control teenagers", but the result of an anger that has been too long contained. He references chronic shortages of teachers and decrepit school infrastructure as some of the reasons. Le Figaro headlines on a completely different anger: that of the children who are not sympathetic with the protestors, but whose classmates are blockading or forcing their schools to close. While La Croix focuses on the dilemma of parents, torn between supporting their children's demands for improvements, and fears of their children being either hurt or involved if protests degenerate. 

Meanwhile in the US, the Supreme Court are set to examine the case of Boulder, Colorado, as it seeks billions in damages from oil majors ExxonMobil and Suncor energy for damage caused by wildfires. The Washington Post explains how this is one of about 60 disputes in which city, county, and state authorities are demanding damages of major historic polluters. The Atlantic explains how cases like these could pose an existential threat to the oil industry, but will be a test for so-called "attribution science", whereby scientists have sought to confirm which events are specifically attributable to greenhouse gas emissions, and which companies bear what proportion of that overall responsibility. 

And finally, a giraffe's outlandish hairdo, a friendly azure damzelfly, and a mafia of walruses are among the finalists in Nikkon's Comedy Wildlife Photography awards this year, as featured in the Guardian.