Overview
- Tuesday’s nationwide actions kept hundreds of schools disrupted and drew large crowds with police and union turnout estimates diverging sharply.
- Authorities say more than 6,800 people have been detained since the unrest began and a large share were minors, prompting multiple judicial probes into police conduct.
- A serious injury last week in which a teenager lost a hand led the government to suspend use of the contested stun grenade and open internal investigations.
- The government has offered stopgap relief, including assigning about 3,000 substitute teachers to the worst affected schools and signalling budget adjustments, but student unions say these moves fall short of their multi‑billion euro demands.
- Greta Thunberg’s presence in Saint‑Denis has amplified international attention while both left and right politicians have used the unrest to press rival views and the episode is now a live issue for the presidential campaign.