Overview
- Large student-led demonstrations swept the country after a teachers’ strike, with organizers and unions saying hundreds of thousands joined protests and roughly 528 schools were closed or partially shut because of blockades and safety concerns.
- Following a day of nationwide marches on Tuesday, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced a temporary suspension of stun, flash and shock grenades in the context of the school protests and the police oversight body opened investigations into multiple incidents.
- The clashes have produced severe harm to minors, including reports of a 15-year-old losing a hand and other pupils suffering facial and dental injuries, and authorities say more than 6,000 people have been arrested since mid‑September, most of them minors.
- Political leaders are sharply divided: President Macron urged police restraint, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu promised better school conditions without new large spending, and Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin proposed making parents civilly liable — a plan that has drawn criticism.
- Protesters point to long-term problems — thousands of teacher posts cut, one in ten lessons reportedly lost and decaying school buildings — and officials warn the unrest could spread beyond schools, a concern underlined by parallel student actions in Belgium.