Police fired tear gas and water cannons across France on Tuesday as at least 250,000 protesters rallied nationwide to demand better education funding. The demonstrations follow violent clashes that left hundreds injured and over 6,000 people arrested.
The student movement began on September 17 when teenagers blockaded entrances to high schools in the Paris suburb of Creteil, protesting dilapidated buildings, teacher shortages, and overcrowded classrooms.
Security services traced the movement to Créteil around September 18 to 19, and after an emergency meeting the government called it an operation organised by LFI and its ultra-left proxies. What started as local grievances quickly expanded into a nationwide revolt, drawing teachers, parents, trade unions, and rights groups into the streets of Marseille, Strasbourg, Rennes, and central Paris.
Supported by trade unions and rights groups, the protests have also been marked by blockades outside institutions such as the Cesar Baggio secondary school in Lille, Le Corbusier in Aubervilliers, and the Kerichen high school in Brest.
Education Minister Meets Student Leaders as Arrests Pass Six Thousand
According to the CNBC report, the Justice Ministry stated that 5,060 people had been arrested since the start of the demonstrations, with 87 percent of those detained under the age of 18. By Tuesday, official figures cited by Ynetnews placed the total number of arrests at 6,000, with prosecutors moving forward against approximately 1,800 individuals, including 1,483 minors.
As the unrest escalated, Education Minister Edouard Geffray met with student leaders on October 2 to discuss the crisis. The government subsequently announced a five-point plan to reform the public education system, an olive branch that student representatives dismissed as insufficient to address their demands.
Although Geffray said in an interview that the movement was legitimate at the outset, France’s Interior Ministry stated that the unrest no longer has anything to do with the legitimate expression of high-school students’ demands.
Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies reported a massive crackdown, with the Interior Ministry and Justice Ministry confirming that thousands had been detained.
Al Jazeera noted that 210 teenagers and 715 police officers have been wounded in the clashes, along with dozens of education staff members, as property damage reached the tens of millions of euros.
Prime Minister Faces Fiscal Pressures and Dilapidated Schools
ABC News reported that the allocation earmarks 65.5 billion euros for schools, which outpaces the 63.4 billion euros designated for defense, though students argue the funds fall far short of repairing crumbling infrastructure, unventilated classrooms that roast in summer heatwaves, and chronic staff shortages.
The unrest has placed immense pressure on the administration of outgoing President Emmanuel Macron. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu described the clashes as producing the school system’s heaviest toll in decades
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Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez defended the police response, stating it had been proportionate in almost all cases and that the protests had at times turned into riots, requiring police intervention. Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon emphasized that their priority was to restore order.
Within schools, students have cited dilapidated buildings, regular shortages of staff, water leaks, rat infestations, and long hours, noting that classes often start at 8 a.m. and can last to the early evening.
Parties Clash Over Street Unrest and Political Repercussions
Opponents of the movement, including critics cited by Ynetnews, have accused the France Unbowed party and its leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, of inciting violence and inflaming street unrest. Lawmakers from France Unbowed have vehemently denied the accusations, countering that the government is attempting to politicize legitimate youth grievances, while Mélenchon urged party members and supporters to protect pupils from the police by putting themselves between the two sides.
Will the government’s newly announced five-point plan and budget allocation satisfy the demands of the protesters, or will the demonstrations continue?