Student protests and school blockades spread across French cities amid clashes with police
High school students continued to block schools on Wednesday, with some demonstrations turning violent and leading to arrests and injuries in several French cities.
Student unrest persisted on Wednesday as high schools in cities such as Lille, Lyon, Saint-Denis, Nice, Marseille and Strasbourg remained blocked. Most sites stayed calm, but confrontations erupted in Saint-Denis where CRS units faced tense stand-offs and mortar fire, and in Lyon where scooters were set alight, a tram was halted and police were pelted with projectiles, resulting in 14 arrests. Similar disturbances occurred in Nice, where electric bikes were burned, and in Strasbourg, where firefighters extinguished trash fires.
Authorities recorded 31 injured persons, including two police officers, and 440 detentions, many leading to police custody. The Union syndicale lycéenne and the Union étudiant call for continued blockades, citing demands for teacher replacements, higher funding and decent learning conditions, with a major mobilisation planned for 6 October.
Why it matters
The protests highlight widespread dissatisfaction with education funding and could disrupt schooling for thousands of students nationwide.
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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