71,500 Marched and 504 Were Arrested as France's School Revolt Spreads

France's interior ministry said 71,500 people joined Thursday's education protests and police arrested 504, as school blockades and clashes kept pressure on the government. ^[2]

Students blocked entrances to hundreds of high schools. In Paris, police used tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators, then riot police moved to clear Place de la Bastille, where clashes broke out. The ministry put turnout in the capital at 24,500, roughly a third of its nationwide estimate. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The movement, which began in mid-September, joins complaints about missing teachers and poor classrooms with anger over police conduct. A 15-year-old protester lost a hand during a confrontation in Lens on Monday, and the government subsequently suspended the use of stun grenades at high-school protests. ^{[3] [4]}

At Bastille, one student sat on top of a bus stop holding a sign: "Reason for absence: Too busy fighting for our future." ^[3]

Student, teacher and high-school unions have called another nationwide strike and protest day for Tuesday, October 13. "Until we have 10 billion euros on the table, we will continue to take action," a student union spokesperson said. ^[2]

Blockades and police lines

Thursday's disruption extended beyond the marches. The interior ministry said 55,000 people took part in actions outside schools, some of whom did not join the demonstrations. That figure cannot simply be added to the march total because the groups overlap.

The ministry also reported 48 injured police officers. ^[2]

Outside Lycée Hélène Boucher, a Paris high school, pupils erected barriers across the entrance. Police used tear gas as they moved in. The scene put the two strands of the dispute in the same place: students blocking access to demand better conditions, and police trying to clear their blockade. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Protesters have cited absent teachers, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings poorly suited to rising temperatures. ^{[3] [4]} Those demands reach beyond a single funding line. A teacher can fill a vacant lesson, but repairing classrooms and adapting buildings requires a different response.

A 15-year-old pupil from an affluent Paris school said she had joined to show solidarity with students in less privileged areas. "Everyone has the right to be educated at the same level," she said. ^{[2] [3]}

Thursday's ministry turnout estimate was lower than its figure for October 6, when it counted 250,000 participants nationwide. Organisers put that earlier turnout at 450,000. The ministry reported at least 488 arrests and 43 wounded security officials on October 6, compared with 504 arrests and 48 injured police officers on Thursday. ^{[2] [4]}

The lower attendance estimate came alongside another day of hundreds of arrests and dozens of injured officers. By those measures, the government's effort to contain the protests still carries a substantial cost.

Injuries change the dispute

The Lens injury has made the handling of young protesters a central part of the crisis. France 24 reported that the police watchdog was investigating the confrontation in which the teenager lost a hand. ^[4]

In a separate case in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, a 14-year-old was seriously injured in the face by a grenade launcher fired by a police officer during a protest. The prosecutor said the officer had been placed under formal investigation. ^[4]

The full circumstances of the Lens injury are not established, and neither case has a final account in the reporting so far. The reports also do not establish how many of Thursday's 504 arrests involved minors, how many people remain in custody or what charges will follow. ^{[2] [4]}

UNICEF's French branch called for de-escalation and the protection of minors, saying young people have the right to demonstrate peacefully. Its intervention puts the treatment of children alongside the government's effort to restore access to schools. ^[2]

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said police had not been ordered to confront pupils and rejected the characterisation of the government's response as police repression. He accused France Unbowed, the left-wing party, of pursuing a political agenda to throw the country into chaos. The party accused police of a disproportionate response. ^{[2] [4]}

The suspension of stun grenades is a concrete change in tactics. Thursday's use of tear gas and water cannon shows that the government's effort to clear demonstrations still involves force. ^{[2] [3]}

Teachers now, budget measures later

Education Minister Édouard Geffray said 3,000 supply teachers would be sent to schools in the coming days. He also said he would authorise the recruitment of a few hundred more. Lecornu said 114 secondary schools facing the greatest difficulties would receive priority. ^{[2] [3]}

That is the government's most immediate answer to complaints about lessons without teachers. Its broader answer will take longer: Lecornu said the government would table amendments to the 2027 budget to turn some pupils' proposals into measures. He had earlier promised a response plan by the end of October. ^[2]

The movement has already widened well beyond individual school gates. By October 6, the education ministry said about 40 percent of public higher-education institutions had been disrupted, a category covering institutions that were blocked, partly blocked, closed or occupied. ^[4]

The government's announcements now face a practical test: whether the promised teachers reach schools and whether the budget proposals address demands that also concern buildings and daily conditions. The unions have set an earlier test of the government's ability to ease the crisis. Their next nationwide action is October 13, before Lecornu's end-of-month deadline for a response plan. ^[2]