Overview
- The protests began last week over teacher shortages and poor school facilities and expanded to hundreds of secondary schools and about 30 universities across France.
- Authorities reported roughly 1,949 arrests and several hundred police injuries by Thursday evening, with official counts listing hundreds of education‑sector personnel also hurt.
- Violence has included arson at multiple sites, a major school fire in Nantes, buses set alight in Marseille and attacks on school staff reported in several cities.
- The government convened a crisis meeting, accused La France Insoumise of trying to instrumentalize the unrest while LFI denies orchestration and calls for nonviolent protest.
- Longstanding problems underlie the unrest: Education Ministry data show about 9.8% of scheduled secondary‑school hours went undelivered in 2024/25, a shortfall experts link to staffing gaps, regional building responsibility and broader economic strain.