Tear gas used in Paris and Marseille amid nationwide school protests
Hundreds of thousands of students, parents and university students marched across France, demanding better school facilities and less police repression. Police in Paris and Marseille responded with tear gas, while water cannon were deployed in Rennes.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu condemned the violence, noting that 215 students and 85 staff had been injured, along with 715 police officers. The government reported that 891 high schools were disrupted, a quarter of all lycées. Student unions put the protest count at 450,000, with 1,800 schools blockaded.
In Marseille, masked demonstrators tried to barricade themselves, prompting riot officers to fire tear gas. “Most of us aren’t violent,” one student, Alissa, said as she described the deteriorating school conditions. Her friend Sacha added: “We will keep doing this until good measures are taken.”
Education Minister Édouard Geffray urged dialogue rather than blockades, but students say that available measures are inadequate. The CGT union plans further demonstrations next week.
Police investigations continue into cases of alleged disproportionate force. An officer has been charged after firing a tear‑gas grenade that fractured a 14‑year‑old’s jaw, and another incident involved a 15‑year‑old losing a hand after a “sting ball” grenade exploded near a school.
This wave began in mid‑September over overcrowded classrooms and inadequate staff, but has since spread nationwide, even reaching some universities.
