Overview
- Officials said Friday that roughly 560 to 735 schools across France were affected by protests and blockades, with hundreds of institutions closed and remote lessons ordered.
- Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported more than 5,000 arrests since the start of the week, with a high share of detainees under 18 and hundreds of injuries among police, pupils and school staff.
- The government has combined dialogue and limited concessions with a hardline response by opening criminal investigations, ordering school closures and proposing parents be held liable for damage.
- Student representatives publicly condemned violent scenes after talks with Education Minister Édouard Geffray yet pledged further demonstrations, and unions have called solidarity actions and possible strikes.
- The unrest stems from chronic underfunding, teacher shortages and a draft 2027 budget that raises education spending below inflation, a dynamic that threatens prolonged school disruption and wider political fallout.