Over 5,000 Arrested in France's School Protests
Student-led protests over France's education system have led to nearly 3,700 arrests on Thursday and Friday alone, with most detainees being minors.
France is in the midst of ongoing protests led by school and university students angry about the state of the country's education system. According to a minister speaking to French broadcaster TF1, 1,747 people were arrested on Friday, October 2, following 1,954 arrests the day before. About 85% of those detained are minors, and most are students, though not necessarily from the schools where they were arrested.
Scale of the unrest
On Friday, protests affected 735 schools — a 30% drop from Thursday — while unrest specifically broke out at 158 institutions. Authorities say security forces intervened systematically in cases involving rioting, property damage or violence. The minister called the scale of the protests surprising, partly blaming social media and the influence of the far-left party France Unbowed (LFI), while noting that political mobilization helped the movement gain momentum even as the violence became uncontrollable.
A widely circulated video from Friday showed a police officer being knocked to the ground and kicked. Student representatives have distanced themselves from such violence while still calling for protests to continue. The government maintains police and gendarmes showed restraint, but others accuse security forces of using excessive force against demonstrators.
Demands and response
Education Minister Édouard Geffray planned to meet with high school and university student representatives to discuss their demands. Around 400 high schools were closed on Friday, switching to remote learning, and protesting outside closed schools was banned.
The protests began last Friday in the Île-de-France region near Paris and have since spread nationwide. Students are protesting class schedules, overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, and conditions during this year's heat waves. University students joined on Thursday, blocking access to roughly 30 campuses. The Interior Ministry has warned of possible broader urban unrest, and dozens of students and teachers have been injured. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has proposed that parents be made to pay for damage caused by their children during the demonstrations.
