French Students Close Up to 500 Schools as Protests Pass 5,000 Arrests
Teenagers who began marching Sept. 17 over overcrowded classes and crumbling buildings are now clashing with riot police. Organizers say the government has offered no concrete measures and have called new demonstrations for Tuesday.
Up to 500 French high schools were fully or partly closed on Monday as a protest movement led by teenagers entered its third week, with more than 5,000 people arrested and hundreds injured since the demonstrations began on September 17 in Paris.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced the closures, saying security conditions "have not been fulfilled" at the affected schools. He expects a "partial, progressive return to lessons" over the week. The scale matches Friday's, when about 500 schools shut. Thousands of students marched in Paris, Marseille, Nantes and Montpellier on Monday, and organizers have called new protests for Tuesday.
The protesters say French schools have been starved of money. Their complaints include classes of up to 35 or 40 pupils, too few teachers, crumbling buildings, classrooms that become unbearable in heat waves, and the Parcoursup system that decides university places, which they call opaque. Nearly 10 percent of teaching hours went untaught in the 2024-2025 school year, according to figures cited by Time. "We don't have enough chairs in classrooms," one protester told the magazine.
The unrest has turned violent. Officials say 24 schools have been burned or ransacked and 78 school staff members have been injured, which Geffray called "something we have never seen before." In La Ciotat, near Marseille, a 59-year-old teacher was doused with gasoline during Friday's protest, and police detained a 16-year-old over the attack. Time reports 190 students and more than 600 police officers have also been hurt. A 15-year-old lost his hand after picking up a stun grenade.
The arrest numbers have drawn criticism. More than 5,000 people have been detained, about 87 percent of them minors, and more than 1,800 are being prosecuted. Students argue the government is answering a protest about school conditions with police.
The government has tried to respond. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced five initiatives on Sunday, including steps to make sure classes continue, improve school buildings and make Parcoursup more transparent. Geffray has set up an online platform for students to submit proposals and says he is in contact with protesters. Student organizers say none of that amounts to a concrete measure and want money and teachers, not consultations.
Officials also say far-left activists have infiltrated what began as a student-led movement and pushed it toward violence, an assertion organizers have not accepted. The dispute is likely to harden if arrests of minors continue.
Students describe the conditions in plain terms. "It is really difficult to concentrate in the heat, especially when you are in a small classroom with 35 people," student Madeleine Landry told Democracy Now. Organizers in Paris, Marseille, Nantes and Montpellier say they will keep calling people into the streets until they see money for teachers and buildings.
