PARIS, France: Thousands of demonstrators gathered under heavy police surveillance in Paris and cities across France on Tuesday as teachers and trade unions joined high school students protesting over poor school conditions.
Students aged 15 to 17 have blocked entrances to hundreds of high schools since late September, demanding action over teacher shortages, overcrowded timetables, deteriorating classrooms and buildings struggling to cope with rising temperatures.
In the Paris suburb of Creteil, where the protests began last month, students piled barriers outside Saint-Exupery High School. “We are here to make our voice heard, all too often forgotten,” student Abderrahmane Abdelkader said on a microphone.
🚨🇫🇷Breaking: Clashes between Protestors and France Police right now in #France
🇫🇷Today is the Day of mobilization for high school students and unions and large demonstration in #Paris .
https://t.co/7bEZBzw9SM— World_Breaking_News03 (@Breaking2003) October 6, 2026
In the western city of Rennes, teacher Romain Dubourgn said he and other teachers had joined the demonstrations to support students. “With about 30 colleagues, we talked about the police brutality we’ve witnessed and decided to be there for our students if they need us,” he said.
While many demonstrations have remained peaceful, some protesters have set fire to rubbish bins, damaged bus shelters and clashed with riot police. Officers have responded with batons, tear gas and riot-control rounds.
The government says 215 students and 715 police officers have been injured since the movement began. A 15-year-old student also lost a hand on Monday after reportedly picking up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot police, according to a police union source.
Television footage on Tuesday showed riot police using shields to push back crowds who had formed a human chain and blocked a road near a school in eastern Paris. According to AFP, protests were also reported in Marseille, Nantes and Lyon.
Unions join demonstrations
The unrest comes just months before the 2027 presidential election, when voters will choose a successor to President Emmanuel Macron, who cannot seek a third consecutive term. The government has sought to address students’ grievances while accusing the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party of supporting the movement.
Veteran LFI presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon has strongly backed the protests while calling for non-violent action. Authorities expect between 20,000 and 40,000 people to demonstrate in Paris.
READ ALSO: Hundreds of French High Schools Shut as Student Protests Continue
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office called for peaceful gatherings and urged protesters to return to “a structured, legal and democratic form of opposition”. CGT trade union leader Sophie Binet said union members would be present to “protect high-school students”. Green Party leader Marine Tondelier also urged local officials and parents to wear white and join demonstrations to “protect our children”.
Rights groups raise concerns over police conduct
Several trade unions and rights organisations have accused police of using disproportionate force against protesters. Amnesty International said late Monday that French authorities should end what it described as “disproportionate police repression” during recent student demonstrations.
“The images and testimonies widely circulated over the past week raise alarming concerns about the dangerous use of tear gas, batons and policing techniques by the police,” Amnesty’s Anne Savinel-Barras said. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said late Monday that police had launched 10 internal investigations into allegations of brutality since the protests began.
The education ministry said 24 schools had been burned or ransacked since the start of the movement. More than 5,000 people, 87% of them minors, have been arrested, while Lecornu’s office said 85 teaching staff had also been injured.
The prime minister has sought to address teacher shortages and the renovation of deteriorating school buildings. The government is also backing legislation that would require those responsible for damaging public property to pay for repairs rather than leaving the cost to taxpayers.
