Riot police clash with students as education protests rage in France

French riot officers have clashed with secondary school students across the country as widespread unrest over public education conditions disrupted hundreds of campuses.

More than 700 schools experienced disruptions on Friday as teenagers staged blockades and rallies against teacher shortages, deteriorating facilities, overcrowded classes and lengthy timetables. The unrest, which initially erupted in the capital last week, has rapidly extended to major urban hubs such as Marseille, Nantes, Montpellier, Strasbourg and Rennes.

Tensions escalated significantly in several locations, prompting security forces to intervene. Authorities reported that rubbish bins were set alight in streets across Paris and other regions, while officers deployed tear gas in Strasbourg over concerns that crowds were turning hostile. In the northeastern town of Belfort, police detained a 17-year-old on suspicion of attempted homicide following an assault on an officer. Meanwhile, law enforcement in Pantin, an eastern suburb of Paris, charged crowds and carried out arrests after objects were hurled at police lines.

Officials reported widespread harm to educational property, including battered fences and shattered entrances. In Nantes, local authorities estimated that the Nelson Mandela high school sustained over two million euros in damages after blazes gutted its glass doorway and sections of the building interior. According to the education ministry, at least 65 school staff members have sustained injuries during the disturbances. Law enforcement agencies also released images of confiscated weaponry, showing petrol bombs, an axe and pyrotechnic mortars gathered during the demonstrations.

French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin declared that the demonstrations had crossed the threshold from adolescent activism into widespread disorder. He stated that prosecutors have been directed to seek financial restitution from parents to cover repair costs caused by their children. Around 2,000 individuals, predominantly minors, have been taken into custody since the demonstrations erupted, Darmanin noted.

Education Minister Édouard Geffray asserted that external agitators had infiltrated the youth movement, pointing to statements from faculty who reported facing individuals outside their institutions who were not enrolled pupils.

Students, however, maintain that their anger stems directly from government policies, specifically impending budget adjustments expected to affect school resources, alongside issues like excessive heat in classrooms and insufficient teaching personnel. Some pupils highlighted that intense police responses, including physical confrontations and chemical deterrents, have only served to further inflame student sentiment.

Several prominent labour organisations, including the Solidaires Trade Union Federation as well as the SNEP-FSU and SNUEP-FSU education unions, have mobilised behind the youths, defending the fundamental rights of pupils to assemble and express grievances publicly. The unfolding crisis comes at a politically delicate moment for President Emmanuel Macron, arriving roughly half a year ahead of the upcoming national presidential election.