More Than 250,000 Rally Across France as Student School Protests Escalate
Version 2: Tuesday’s protests are now under way: government figures put the nationwide turnout at 256,000 including 56,000 in Paris, the Education Ministry reported classes suspended at 891 schools, police fired tear gas and clashed with protesters, the Interior Ministry reported 6,100 people in custody since September, and officials confirmed injuries to teenagers and hundreds of police officers.
In short
More than 256,000 people rallied across France on Tuesday and hundreds of schools were shut or blockaded as students, parents and teachers demanded more education funding. Police fired tear gas in Paris and other cities, and Fox News, citing the Interior Ministry, said 6,100 people have been taken into custody since the protests began in September. French media reported that a 15-year-old lost a hand and a 14-year-old was seriously injured in incidents involving police crowd-control weapons.
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More than a quarter of a million people rallied across France on Tuesday in support of students demanding more education funding, according to government figures cited by The Boston Globe, which put the total at 256,000 including 56,000 in Paris. Police fired tear gas to control crowds in Paris and elsewhere, The Boston Globe reported, and small groups of protesters clashed with riot officers at a city square during a largely peaceful march. The Education Ministry said classes were totally or partially suspended at 891 schools, according to UPI and Fox News, while CBS News reported nearly 2,000 schools were closed and UPI said as many as 2,000 schools and hundreds of universities were blockaded. Fox News reported an Interior Ministry estimate of 86,000 demonstrators outside Paris on Tuesday morning. [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 11 ]
High school and university students were joined by parents and labor unions, UPI reported, saying the parents and unions had stepped in to create a “buffer zone” between students and security forces after two teenagers were hurt by police crowd-control weapons. Unions led by the French Democratic Confederation of Labor, including teachers’ unions, called the mass protests in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Strasbourg and 26 other cities, according to UPI. Bloomberg reported that students are demanding smaller class sizes, building renovations and a reform of the system that allocates university places; Fox News reported complaints about rundown classrooms that lack desks and chairs, summer heat without air conditioning, rats, staff shortages and heavy workloads. [ 2 , 7 , 8 ]
UPI reported that a 15-year-old’s hand was blown off in the northern city of Lens on Monday as he apparently handled a police stingball grenade, and that a 14-year-old was seriously injured when a tear gas canister struck his head in Paris’s northern suburbs. Fox News, citing Reuters, reported that at least 715 police officers and 215 teenagers had been injured, while UPI put the figures at more than 700 police officers and 300 high school students. UPI said a union representing judges and a human rights group criticized police for allegedly using excessive force against children. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the police response had been proportionate in “almost all cases,” and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu pledged that any “accidents” would be investigated while describing allegations that police are racist as a “lie,” The Boston Globe reported. [ 7 , 8 , 11 ]
Fox News, citing the Interior Ministry, reported that 6,100 people had been taken into custody since the protests began in September. The Boston Globe said the protests increased pressure on the administration of outgoing President Emmanuel Macron. Education Minister Édouard Geffray called the injuries a “tragedy” and said protecting students was the government’s number one priority, but warned of “extreme violence within these movements,” according to UPI. Lecornu said the government and school leaders must listen to students’ concerns and find solutions, The Boston Globe reported. [ 7 , 8 , 11 ]
The documents differ on when the movement began: The Boston Globe said protests started at a high school in the Paris region in mid-September, UPI said they began on Sept. 21 in a northeastern Paris suburb, and Bloomberg said they started in the Paris region in September. CNN described them as France’s biggest student protests in decades, and UPI reported that La France Insoumise leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon compared the scenes to the May 1968 protests, strikes and unrest. Fox News also reported that Trump wrote on Truth Social that “What’s happening in France is nothing less than out of control mass migration.” [ 2 , 4 , 7 , 8 , 11 ]
Why it matters
The protests have shut or blockaded schools across France and drawn the involvement of parents, teachers’ unions and political figures, increasing pressure on the administration of outgoing President Emmanuel Macron, according to The Boston Globe. The injuries to teenagers and the use of tear gas have made police tactics a point of dispute, with the interior minister defending the response and a judges’ union and a human rights group criticizing it, UPI reported. The documents give no indication of how long the movement will continue or whether the government will offer new funding.
Key facts
- The Interior Ministry estimated that 256,000 people took part in demonstrations across France on Tuesday, including 56,000 in Paris, according to The Boston Globe. [ 11 ]
- Classes were totally or partially suspended at 891 schools, the Education Ministry said, according to UPI and Fox News. [ 7 , 8 ]
- CBS News reported nearly 2,000 schools were closed, UPI reported as many as 2,000 schools and hundreds of universities were blockaded, and a high school students’ union told Reuters over half of France’s high schools were closed or blockaded. [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]
- Police fired tear gas to control crowds in Paris and elsewhere, The Boston Globe reported, and CBS News, UPI and Fox News reported clashes between protesters and police. [ 5 , 7 , 8 , 11 ]
- UPI reported that a 15-year-old’s hand was blown off in the northern city of Lens on Monday as he apparently handled a police stingball grenade, and that a 14-year-old was seriously injured when a tear gas canister struck his head in Paris’s northern suburbs. [ 7 ]
- Fox News, citing Reuters, reported at least 715 police officers and 215 teenagers injured, while UPI put the figures at more than 700 police officers and 300 high school students. [ 7 , 8 ]
- Students are demanding smaller class sizes, building renovations and a reform of the system that allocates university places, Bloomberg reported, along with more money for education. [ 2 , 7 , 8 ]
- Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the government and school leaders must listen to students’ concerns, and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the police response had been proportionate in “almost all cases,” The Boston Globe reported. [ 11 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Nationwide school blockades and street protests took place across France on Tuesday. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 11 ]
- Students were joined by parents, teachers and labor unions, including unions led by the French Democratic Confederation of Labor. [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 11 ]
- The Education Ministry said classes were totally or partially suspended at 891 schools. [ 7 , 8 ]
- Police used tear gas and clashed with protesters in Paris and other cities. [ 5 , 7 , 8 , 11 ]
Still unclear
- How many schools were shut or blockaded. CBS News reported nearly 2,000 schools closed, UPI reported as many as 2,000 blockaded, and the Education Ministry figure cited by UPI and Fox News was 891 schools with classes suspended, while a students’ union told Reuters over half of high schools were closed or blockaded.
- The number of people injured in the protests. UPI reported more than 700 police officers and 300 high school students injured, while Fox News, citing Reuters, reported at least 715 police officers and 215 teenagers.
- When and where the protest movement began. The Boston Globe said protests started at a high school in the Paris region in mid-September, UPI said they began on Sept. 21 in a northeastern Paris suburb, and Bloomberg said the Paris region in September.
- Whether police used excessive force against students. UPI reported a judges’ union and a human rights group criticized police, while Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the response was proportionate in “almost all cases” and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called allegations that police are racist a “lie” and pledged that any accidents would be investigated.
- The reaction of US political figures to the protests. Only Fox News reported a comment by Trump, writing on Truth Social; no other document mentions it.
- The Interior Ministry estimated 256,000 demonstrators nationwide on Tuesday, including 56,000 in Paris. Reported by a single source so far
- The Interior Ministry said 6,100 people had been taken into custody since the protests began in September. Reported by a single source so far
- Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez commented on the protests and police tactics. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The New York Times reports France is set for nationwide strikes as school protests escalate. [ 1 ]
- Bloomberg reports hundreds of French high schools will shut Tuesday as teacher unions join the student-led protest movement. [ 2 ]
- Reuters reports France is bracing for a day of school blockades and street protests. [ 3 ]
- CNN reports French students demonstrating nationwide, describing the biggest student protests in decades. [ 4 ]
- CBS News reports students ramping up protests against poor conditions at schools, with clashes, damage and arrests. [ 5 ]
- CBS News reports nearly 2,000 schools closed in France as students, parents and teachers protest into a third week. [ 6 ]
- UPI reports students clashing with police as up to 2,000 schools and hundreds of universities are blockaded, with parents and unions joining. [ 7 ]
- Fox News reports the Interior Ministry saying 6,100 people have been taken into custody since September, and 86,000 demonstrators outside Paris on Tuesday morning. [ 8 ]
- The Boston Globe reports more than 256,000 people rallied nationwide, including 56,000 in Paris, as police fired tear gas. [ 11 ]
- A 15-year-old’s hand is blown off in Lens as he apparently handled a police stingball grenade, and a 14-year-old is seriously injured by a tear gas canister in Paris’s northern suburbs, UPI reports. [ 7 ]