French school protests spread, dozens injured and mayor faces legal action
Student blockades at high schools across France continued Thursday, with hundreds of arrests and dozens of police and education staff injured.
Student protests that started in several Paris-area high schools have now reached 356 institutions nationwide, extending to universities as the movement entered its second week. On Wednesday alone, 625 demonstrators were detained and 83 police and gendarmerie officers suffered injuries, with a young man in Tours reportedly hit by a rubber-bullet gun. The education sector has logged 119 wounded individuals, including 34 teachers and staff, since the mobilisations began.
Education minister Edouard Geffray described the scale of the unrest as unprecedented for the French school system. Police prefect Patrice Faure has filed a complaint against Saint-Denis mayor Bally Bagayoko, accusing him of encouraging violent responses to law-enforcement actions under article 40 of the penal code.
Why it matters
The protests highlight deep dissatisfaction with school conditions and raise concerns about public order and political accountability in France.
How this story developed
- Sep 28 Education Minister urges calm as high-school blockades turn violent in Île-de-France
- Sep 28 Ministers issued a warning that police will intervene if the blockades become violent.
- Sep 29 Around ten Paris high schools faced blockage attempts on Tuesday with no reported violence or injuries.
- Sep 30 Authorities reported 440 arrests and 76 injuries as blockades spread to hundreds of schools.
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