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Student protests that began in the Paris region last month have disrupted more than 1,000 secondary schools with blockades at 222 of them according to interior ministry figures released on October 2. Education Minister Édouard Geffray told France 2 that just over 400 schools and other establishments would remain closed that Friday to safeguard staff and pupils with many switching to online classes. The minister reported that 65 staff members including 40 head teachers have sustained injuries since demonstrations started on September 21 while urging parents to keep children away from the blockades because they face danger on the streets.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin informed RTL radio that nearly 2,000 individuals had been taken into custody since the protests began with about 90 percent of them adolescents and two-thirds placed in police custody. “We have gone from high school student demonstrations to a public order disturbance,” Darmanin stated. “When people target buses and set schools on fire it is no longer simply a protest issue.” The minister instructed prosecutors to pursue civil liability against parents whose children caused vandalism so families would cover repair costs.
Fires destroyed the main hall of a lycée in Nantes while smaller blazes consumed school entrances in Rouen and other sites Reuters correspondents reported from the scenes. In Marseille hundreds of youths forced firefighters from their truck before torching the vehicle and teachers at one establishment were splashed with petrol during an incident that officials initially described as an assault. Police clashed with protesters in Toulouse and Strasbourg where a car was set alight as part of the unrest that also halted public transport in several cities.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened a crisis meeting on Thursday after which sources close to his office told Reuters that intelligence services attributed the start of the movement to hard-left politicians from La France Insoumise. An LFI lawmaker denied the charge in broadcasts to French media while the government described the protests as having been hijacked by violent fringe groups no longer connected to legitimate student demands. The demonstrations have coincided with the announcement of spending cuts in the 2027 budget which targets a fiscal adjustment of 54 billion euros.
Pupils have voiced grievances about unreplaced absent teachers overcrowded classrooms dilapidated infrastructure and school days stretching from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. according to accounts gathered by CNN and RFI. The secondary students union has scheduled a national protest for October 6 and called on universities to join the action that has already seen 30 campuses blockaded. Geffray acknowledged that initial complaints held validity but stressed that violence including the throwing of hydrochloric acid at officers marked a dangerous shift.
School protests send shivers down French government’s spine as the BBC noted in its coverage evoking the legacy of the 1968 demonstrations that nearly brought down the state. With presidential elections approaching within months the administration under President Emmanuel Macron has grown visibly concerned about the political fallout from the unrest that has injured dozens of police and firefighters in addition to school personnel. The Telegraph reported that education traditionally the largest budget item now risks being eclipsed by debt servicing costs projected at 74.5 billion euros next year amid the freeze on public sector wages that has further inflamed tensions.
