France School Protests Escalate Into Urban Violence
Paris – The French government has issued warnings regarding escalating "urban violence" linked to a rapidly expanding wave of protests by high school students across the nation. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened a crisis cabinet meeting on Thursday, instructing ministers to cancel travel plans to address the unrest. According to police reports, approximately 900 demonstrations, blockades, and related incidents were underway outside high schools nationwide, resulting in the shutdown of more than 160 institutions. Access was also restricted to about 30 university campuses on Thursday, including locations in Paris and Marseille.
Lecornu’s office stated that the upsurge in violence makes it virtually impossible to maintain the continuity of public education, exposing staff and students to significant danger. Consequently, many schools have switched to online classes to protect teachers and pupils. Education Minister Édouard Geffray is scheduled to meet with pupil representatives on Friday to discuss the situation. Interior Ministry figures indicate that nearly 3,000 lycée students, aged between 15 and 18, have been detained since the protests began, with 1,949 arrested on Thursday alone. More than 300 police officers, along with dozens of firefighters, teachers, and pupils, have sustained injuries.
The grievances driving the protests include overloaded timetables, overcrowded classrooms, insufficient teaching staff, and unbearable temperatures during recent heatwaves. Riot police have been deployed to confront the increasingly violent demonstrations. Injuries have primarily resulted from hurled objects and police-fired riot-control projectiles. The interior ministry announced an internal police investigation following accusations of excessive force and brutality against three pupils.
Significant property damage has been reported, with rubbish bins set on fire outside many schools and serious arson attempts inside some buildings. Authorities noted that fire damage at one school in Nantes was so extensive that the facility will remain closed for a month. In Strasbourg, tram services were temporarily suspended after protesting students obstructed tracks with crowd control barriers. A 17-year-old student in Strasbourg highlighted issues such as 35 students per classroom, insufficient toilets, water leaks, and a lack of budget or resources.
Further incidents included bin fires in Toulouse, destruction of a bus stop by young people in black hoodies in Lille, and attempts to light fires inside two schools in Marseille, where one teacher was splashed with petrol. While many educators have reported physical threats, some support their pupils. Juliette Estiville, a high school Spanish teacher in Paris, described forming a barrier between police and students to provide protection, stating she was disgusted by the police response.
The government has accused the radical left La France Insoumise (LFI) party of encouraging the protests, noting that several LFI MPs and mayors, including Bally Bagayoko, mayor of Saint-Denis, were cheered at demonstrations. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, LFI’s candidate for the 2027 presidential election, insisted on Thursday that the party backs non-violent methods of struggle. He expressed his greatest worry as an unbearable level of police violence against the young protesters.
This report was produced in the Europe Brief News newsroom.
