Overview
- Authorities reported a sharp escalation by Wednesday, with roughly 625 arrests and hundreds of schools affected as protests moved from local lycées to dozens of cities and campuses.
- Violence has included arson at school sites in Nantes, buses set on fire in Marseille, trash‑bin and barricade fires in multiple cities, and attacks on school staff that left dozens injured.
- Protesters say they demand more teachers, safer buildings, functioning classrooms and basic materials, and government data show about 9.8% of scheduled secondary‑school lessons were not taught in 2024/25.
- The crisis has become politically charged after La France Insoumise figures and Saint‑Denis mayor Bally Bagayoko publicly appeared with demonstrators, prompting criticism and legal scrutiny while the IGPN opened probes into three police interventions.
- The government has convened a crisis meeting, ordered remote teaching in some areas and plans a digital platform to collect pupils’ demands as student unions continue to call further actions and roughly two dozen universities report blockades.