France student protests are set to intensify as tens of thousands of people prepare to take to the streets of Paris, with the country’s major trade unions joining demonstrations over deteriorating education conditions.
Authorities expect between 20,000 and 40,000 demonstrators in the capital on Tuesday, after days of clashes between pupils and riot police. The unrest has spread to schools and universities across the country, with unions warning that officers have used disproportionate force.
The movement began with blockades at hundreds of secondary schools. Students have complained of teacher shortages, overcrowded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings unable to cope with rising temperatures.
But the protests have increasingly descended into violence, with fires lit in rubbish bins, bus shelters set alight and riot police deploying batons, tear gas and riot-control rounds.
The government says 215 students and 715 police officers have been injured since the demonstrations began. A 15-year-old boy reportedly lost his left hand on Monday after picking up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot officers.
Footage showed people attending to the teenager as he lay on the pavement, with what appeared to be a bloody stump where his hand had been. Reports that the injury extended to his elbow have not been confirmed.
Schools caught up in France student protests
Teaching has been disrupted at 589 of France’s 3,700 lycees, the equivalent of sixth-form colleges in Britain, as well as at 32 universities, according to the education ministry and a student union.
At the Vauquelin high school in Paris, around 100 pupils were evacuated after masked demonstrators set fire to the entrance. The headteacher, Carole Zerbib, said a “very determined” group had tried to force its way through the main entrance before starting the blaze.
Firefighters attempting to tackle the flames were reportedly targeted with fireworks. Video showed two men using fire extinguishers from inside the building as the fire grew outside the doors.
Other schools have also been affected. A large bonfire was built outside Gaston Berger high school in Lille, while the entrance to Victor Hugo high school in Caen was set alight after bins and other objects were piled against it.
In Bordeaux, pupils demonstrated in front of riot police while others returned to lessons. In Paris, a cardboard sign outside Turgot high school read: “We’re missing our lessons to give you one.”
Unions call for peaceful demonstrations
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office has called for peaceful gatherings and urged protesters to return to “a structured, legal and democratic form of opposition”.
Sophie Binet, head of the CGT labour union, said her members would attend to “protect high-school students”. Ten internal investigations have been opened into allegations of police brutality, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.
The government has accused hard-Left activists of hijacking the original movement, while seeking to respond to complaints about missing teachers and unsafe or deteriorating school buildings.
Since the unrest began, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked, the education minister said. More than 5,000 people have been arrested, 87 per cent of them minors, while 85 members of teaching staff have also been injured.
The unrest comes just months before the 2027 election to choose a successor to President Emmanuel Macron, who is barred from serving more than two terms.
The government is also backing legislation that would make those responsible for damaging public property pay for repairs, rather than relying on public funds. Mr Lecornu said compensation could be recovered from family allowances and housing benefits, while maintaining a minimum income.
Ms Binet said the proposal would “end up targeting the most vulnerable families”.
