France school blockades spread nationwide as clashes leave 440 detained

New Delhi: French high school students continued blockading schools across the country on Tuesday, with some demonstrations escalating into clashes with police as protests over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating school conditions spread beyond the Paris region. Around 440 people were detained, most of them minors, while roughly 400 schools were affected by protests or disruptions, according to official figures.

France’s education minister, Edouard Geffray, said on Wednesday that 76 students and education personnel had been injured since the demonstrations began. Separately, the interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said 48 law-enforcement personnel were injured during Tuesday’s confrontations and that around two-thirds of those detained were subsequently placed in police custody.

Some of the most serious incidents were reported in Lille, where rubbish bins were set alight and bottles, paving stones and other objects were thrown at police, who responded with tear gas. Confrontations or blockades were also reported in Bordeaux, Rennes, Nantes, Marseille, Paris and surrounding areas, while Reuters reported fires during protests in Lyon.

In the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, AFP reported that police carrying anti-riot shields struck students with batons after a crowd formed outside Lycee Paul-Eluard. Bally Bagayoko, the local mayor and a France unbowed politician, had joined the protest and said lower income areas received fewer educational resources than wealthier ones.

Nunez said there had been seven incidents in which hydrochloric acid was thrown at law-enforcement officers. The allegation has not been independently verified.

The movement began in the ile-de-France region around Paris before spreading to other parts of the country. Students have cited overcrowded classes, shortages of teachers and other staff, deteriorating buildings, insufficient resources and demanding timetables among their grievances.

Ryad Rani, president of the Union Syndicale Lyceenne, called for nationwide school blockades but urged students to remain peaceful. He said some classes had between 32 and 35 pupils and cited shortages of teachers and other staff as central grievances.
Students have used rubbish bins and barriers to block entrances to lycees, France’s upper secondary schools, while others have demonstrated outside campuses with placards highlighting long school days and poor learning conditions.

The prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu has condemned fires and violence around schools as irresponsible while saying difficulties facing high schools must be heard and addressed. Geffray has similarly said students can have legitimate grievances but condemned violence surrounding some blockades.

The student mobilization coincided with a separate nationwide public-sector strike involving teachers, firefighters, healthcare workers and other civil servants. Unions are opposing wage restraints and spending reductions as Lecornu’s government prepares its 2027 budget, including a planned €54 billion savings drive.

Politicians from France Unbowed (LFI) have joined some demonstrations, prompting government accusations that the party was encouraging escalation. The political dispute has unfolded alongside, but remains distinct from, students’ stated demands over staffing, class sizes and school resources.

The Union Syndicale Lyceenne has called for school mobilization to continue, demanding replacement teachers, increased resources and improved learning conditions. The government has said violence around schools will not be tolerated while acknowledging that the underlying concerns raised by students require attention.