{"id":7241,"date":"2026-10-06T14:41:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T14:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=7241"},"modified":"2026-10-06T14:41:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T14:41:38","slug":"france-protests-what-we-know-as-schools-brace-for-nationwide-action-protests-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=7241","title":{"rendered":"France protests: What we know as schools brace for nationwide action | Protests News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Protests have continued across France for a third week as tens of thousands of school pupils and trade unionists have taken to the streets across many cities.<\/p>\n

Students initially began boycotting classes<\/a> in deprived areas of Paris on September 21 over teacher shortages and poor conditions, but protests have quickly morphed into a nationwide movement, with some of the largest demonstrations taking place on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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School blockades have turned violent, with protesters accused of hurling items at police and officers allegedly responding forcefully using batons, tear gas and rubber bullets. In one case, a teenager lost his hand<\/a> in a grenade explosion.<\/p>\n

The mass demonstrations, which also coincided with a public sector strike over government budget plans last week, have presented another challenge for President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s cash-strapped government ahead of next year\u2019s elections, amid an ongoing fiscal crisis as government debt has rocketed in recent years.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we know:<\/p>\n

\"Riot
Riot police face students during a protest against under-resourced schools in Rennes, western France, on October 6, 2026 [Jeremias Gonzalez\/AP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What do protesters want?<\/h2>\n

Students have been protesting over what they say are poor conditions in France\u2019s high schools \u2013 or lycees \u2013 especially in poorer areas. Protests have been held in Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Nantes, Marseille, Lyon and other towns and cities.<\/p>\n

Students say absent teachers are not replaced, dilapidated school buildings are sometimes rodent-infested, there are inadequate tables and chairs, large class sizes and long classroom hours.<\/p>\n

The intense heatwave which hit France in the summer exacerbated existing problems in neglected school buildings, which also suffer from a lack of air conditioning, school pupils say.<\/p>\n

The protests have coincided with ongoing nationwide public sector strikes over a proposed 2027 cost-cutting budget that aims to achieve 54 billion euros ($61.3bn) in savings as Macron\u2019s government races to bring a large public deficit under control.<\/p>\n

Public sector staff and unions object in particular to a government plan to freeze salaries to save about two billion euros ($2.27bn).<\/p>\n

Parents are also increasingly present at protests amid widespread anger about the police response to demonstrating minors.<\/p>\n

But the protests are happening amid wider discontent over soaring fuel and commodity prices and reduced public spending under Macron.<\/p>\n

Government officials have meanwhile accused political opposition groups and unionists of taking advantage of the student movement. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu accused political opponents last week of encouraging escalation.<\/p>\n

What has happened so far?<\/h2>\n

At least 6,100 people had been arrested by early Tuesday, many of them under the age of 18, as police tactics come under intense scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Serious injuries have also been reported.<\/p>\n

A 15-year-old lost a hand in the northern city of Lens on Monday after he reportedly came into contact with a police stun grenade, which then exploded. Public prosecutors say investigations are ongoing into whether the youth actively picked up the grenade or if it landed on him.<\/p>\n

Overall, at least 190 high school students have been injured, Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on Monday. On Sunday, he said 78 teaching staff had been injured, and 24 schools had been burned or ransacked.<\/p>\n

Some 715 police officers have been injured, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Officials said as many as 589 schools have been disrupted this week, down from 735 on Friday last week.<\/p>\n

Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have criticised the use of force against minors amid media reports of students being hit with batons and rubber bullets, as well as sprayed with tear gas.<\/p>\n

What happened on Tuesday?<\/h2>\n

Protesters again blockaded schools on Tuesday as thousands demonstrated over their demands.<\/p>\n

Placard-waving crowds were reported in southern Marseille, eastern Strasbourg and other major cities.<\/p>\n

In Paris\u2019s 20th district, protesters outside the shut Helene Boucher lycee tipped over rubbish bins and bicycles and created a makeshift barricade, The Associated Press news agency reported. Parents, meanwhile, positioned themselves between the demonstrators and police to protect their children.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are our children. Teachers, parents, federations, we all share the same goal: the protection of children\u2019s rights, and it is a legitimate right to demonstrate and to make demands,\u201d said Emilia Sichili Suriam, one member of a parents\u2019 association.<\/p>\n

Interior Minister Nunez rejected criticism of the police on Tuesday, saying the response has been proportionate in \u201calmost all cases\u201d. He claimed that the protests were transforming into \u201criots\u201d.<\/p>\n

What does this mean for the French government?<\/h2>\n

These are only the latest in a series of high-profile protests that have marked Macron\u2019s presidency and undermined his government\u2019s reform efforts ahead of elections in April and May.<\/p>\n

Macron will not run in next year\u2019s elections, but his image and that of his government have no doubt been tainted by photos of police chasing students in the streets, France expert Jacob Ross, from the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is not taken seriously any more because many think of him as already out of government,\u201d Ross said of Macron. \u201cBut this is still very significant for his government because it has become clear that they don\u2019t have the capacity to calm things down. There\u2019s clearly little fiscal room to manoeuvre.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macron\u2019s terms have long been beset by political and financial instability. Successive prime ministers have faced difficulties in pushing through policies in the highly polarised National Assembly where Macron\u2019s centrist Renaissance party and allied blocs lack a majority.<\/p>\n

Critics have taken aim at Macron\u2019s deeply unpopular austerity measures, which have seen drastically reduced government spending taking a toll on pensions and healthcare. Officials, however, have defended these policies amid rising debt following COVID-19-era spending.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Lecornu said the government had kickstarted initiatives to address the protesters\u2019 demands and that a report was expected by the end of the month. He, however, added that Paris would not \u201cyield an inch\u201d to violence.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, frontrunner and opposition leader Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally party submitted a shadow budget on Tuesday promising 140 billion euros ($157.6bn) in cost savings by 2032 if elected next year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Protests have continued across France for a third week as tens of thousands of school pupils and trade unionists have taken to the streets across many cities. Students initially began boycotting classes in deprived areas of Paris on September 21 over teacher shortages and poor conditions, but protests have quickly morphed into a nationwide movement,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t