Full Breakdown
French Student Protests Turn Violent, Disrupt Over 700 Schools
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Escalation of Demonstrations
High-school students have staged nationwide blockades that have forced the closure of more than 700 schools. Rioting erupted in Paris and spread to Montpellier, Nantes, Marseille, Strasbourg, Rennes and other cities. Police used tear gas, batons and flash-ball guns, while demonstrators set rubbish bins and school fences ablaze and threw fireworks and petrol-filled bottles at officers.
Background and Funding Context
The protests follow weeks of grievances over overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, long timetables and dilapidated facilities. Planned budget cuts to education, announced six months before the 2027 presidential election, have intensified discontent. The draft 2027 budget proposes a 1.7 % rise in the education envelope to €65.53 billion, a figure below inflation and lower than the share of the budget historically allocated to schooling.
Official Statements & Responses
- Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said the movement had been “hijacked by outsiders” and warned that parents could be held financially responsible for damage caused by their children.
- Education Minister Édouard Geffray reported that at least 65 education staff, including 40 headteachers, were injured and urged parents to keep children out of the protests.
- Several unions—including SNEP-FSU, SNUEP-FSU and Solidaires—issued statements supporting the students’ demands for better learning conditions.
Data and Impact
- 735 of France’s 3,700 schools have been affected “one way or another.”
- 400 high schools (about one in ten) were closed on Friday.
- Police seized petrol bombs, an axe and mortar-type fireworks.
- Damage to Nelson Mandela high school in Nantes exceeded €2 million after a fire destroyed its glass entrance.
- The education ministry noted 65 staff injuries, while the interior ministry reported 5,000 arrests since the protests began.