Aceh – Indonesia, Students in France have staged massive protests, setting fire to at least three schools and causing injuries. The demonstrations, triggered by severe staffing shortages and deteriorating school facilities, quickly escalated into violence.
Riot police fired tear gas at protesting university and high school students in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, amid a nationwide strike that resulted in nearly 2,000 arrests across France.
High school and university students joined firefighters, healthcare workers, transport staff, and other public sector employees on strike to demand the hiring of more substitute teachers and improved learning conditions.
Demonstrators erected makeshift barricades, blockaded schools and universities, and set fire to trash cans during clashes with police officers.
A total of 1,949 people were arrested on Thursday (1/10/2026), up from 625 the previous day. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez condemned what he described as “uncontrolled violence,” while the ministry reported that 305 police officers and gendarmes were injured.
French Education Minister Édouard Geffray stated that more than 400 schools were closed on Friday due to the unrest. He argued that the student movement had been “hijacked by violent groups.”
Nunez said the French police watchdog, the General Inspectorate of the National Police, has opened three investigations into incidents that left students injured. According to RFI, in one case, prosecutors stated that a young man in Tours suffered a head injury consistent with an impact from a non-lethal police weapon.
However, the Interior Minister defended the overall police response, calling it proportional.
In Marseille, protesters attacked firefighters attempting to extinguish a blaze outside Lycée Saint-Exupéry, looting and burning one of their vehicles. One firefighter was injured.
Demonstrators also set fire to a city bus near Lycée La Floride, while several other buses were attacked, prompting authorities to suspend all public transit services across Marseille.
The government held an emergency meeting, after which the prime minister’s office—citing intelligence reports—stated that the violence was organized by the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI) alongside its “far-left proxies.”
LFI spokesman Manuel Bompard urged the government “not to indulge in conspiracy theories or treat high school students like children.”
“This spontaneous movement stems from frustration over utterly unacceptable educational conditions,” Bompard told AFP.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the LFI party’s candidate for next year’s presidential election, called on students to rely solely on non-violent means.
Students are demanding increased funding for public education, less congested class schedules, and smaller class sizes. Christelle Kauffmann, deputy secretary general of the school administrators’ union SNPDEN-Unsa, stated that principals lack the necessary resources to reduce class sizes.
In an interview with BFM TV, she condemned the attacks on school principals, several of whom were injured during the protests.
A number of schools suffered property damage and vandalism, including Lycée Diderot in Paris—where the facade was blackened by a large fire involving trash cans and scooters—and Lycée Nelson-Mandela in Nantes, which was damaged by arson.
The turmoil comes as French President Emmanuel Macron’s popularity drops near record lows, with recent polls showing his approval rating hovering between 16% and 18%.
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