Police fired tear gas and water cannons at student protesters blockading French high schools on Tuesday. The demonstrations marked the biggest day of action yet in a nationwide wave of unrest over dilapidated classrooms, understaffed classrooms, and inequality in the French education system.
Nationwide Blockades and Clashes With Riot Police
Demonstrations flared across cities including Strasbourg, Lyon, Rennes, Marseille, Nantes, and Toulouse, transforming routine student walkouts into chaotic street confrontations. While rallies in Marseille and Nantes remained largely peaceful—with participants carrying signs bearing messages like The state has killed national education
—other cities saw intense clashes. Protesters hurled projectiles and lit street fires, while security forces deployed tear gas and water cannons to clear barricades.
The movement has its roots in mid-September, when protests began at a high school in the Paris region before spreading across the country. Protesters rallied at establishments such as the Paul-Éluard high school in Saint-Denis, a suburb north of the capital.
The unrest has taken a severe physical toll on participants and law enforcement alike. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s office reported that at least 715 police officers and 215 teenagers have been injured in the clashes. More than 1,800 people are facing prosecution.
Amid the growing unrest, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates issued a warning to Americans in France regarding student protests that have turned violent. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez defended security forces, stating they were not cracking down on young people but rather protecting students wishing to peacefully voice their demands. Lawmaker Aurélien Le Coq condemned the use of riot police, batons, rubber bullets, and tear gas.
Dilapidated Facilities and Classroom Inequality Drive Student Anger
The protests stem from mounting frustration over deteriorating school infrastructure and unequal learning conditions. Students point to schools plagued by water leaks, rat infestations, and a lack of proper climate control during extreme summer heatwaves. Compounding these physical woes are teacher shortages.
Meanwhile, recent high school graduates like Hugo Vetzel in Strasbourg highlighted the substantial gap between elites and ordinary citizens.
Protesting students argue that absent teachers in low-income areas are frequently left unreplaced, depriving pupils of critical instruction time. According to calculations by the SNES-FSU education union, upwards of half of all public junior and senior high schools opened the September term missing a minimum of one educator. The education ministry has acknowledged that about 10% of teaching hours across the year are not delivered.
We want more money for the national educational system so that high schools are renovated.
Roberta, recent high school graduate
Students also chafe under grueling daily schedules that often stretch from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., making France’s compulsory school hours among the highest in Europe. Teachers noted that these long gaps during the day stem from timetable challenges following changes to the baccalaureate that allowed for greater subject choice.
Macron Administration Balances Spending Cuts with Student Unrest
President Emmanuel Macron’s administration faces a difficult balancing act as it manages the crisis while attempting to rein in public spending.
At the same time, Education Minister Edouard Geffray noted that the high school student movement was legitimate at the outset, though the Interior Ministry argued the unrest no longer has anything to do with the legitimate expression of high-school students’ demands.