France Prepares for Large Protests After Violent Clash at Saint‑Denis Lycée

Overview

• A police attempt to arrest a pupil inside lycée Paul‑Éluard in Saint‑Denis on Thursday, Oct. 15, degenerated into confrontations with teachers, led prosecutors to open an inquiry and prompted police to file complaints.
• The Paris prefecture reports 1,260 people arrested in the Paris area since the movement began, with 86% of those detained classified as minors and hundreds of police and dozens of education staff reported wounded.
• Student organisations say three meetings with Education Minister Édouard Geffray produced no concrete measures and they now want talks with the Prime Minister while planning to keep the mobilisation running through the Toussaint break.
• Interior Ministry and security chiefs have reinforced policing for Saturday, Oct. 17, and authorised conditional use of previously restricted crowd‑control tools in cases of what they call 'very serious urban violence'.
• Separately, a 14‑year‑old who shot school staff in Aubagne has been held in pre‑trial detention under the Parquet national antiterroriste after admitting premeditation and influence by a movement fascinated with mass shootings.