Thousands of French students protest school conditions, sparking closures and arrests

Protests by teenagers aged 15 to 18 erupted last week in the Paris area and quickly expanded to cities such as Lille, Nantes, Marseille, Bordeaux and Lyon, disrupting about 400 secondary schools across France. The youths are demanding smaller class sizes, more teachers and cooler classrooms during heat waves, and have resorted to blocking school gates, igniting trash bins and throwing objects at police. Law enforcement used tear-gas in response, resulting in 440 arrests and ten reported injuries.

Education Minister Édouard Geffray described the incidents as incomprehensible and dangerous, while Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called the escalation irresponsible and accused La France Insoumise of fueling the demonstrations. The unrest coincides with nationwide union strikes opposing the government's budget, which have drawn an estimated 300,000 participants.