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Tens of thousands demand better education in France

France students, teachers march in biggest high school protests

Published : Wednesday, 7 October, 2026 at 12:00 AM

PARIS, Oct 6: Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across France on Tuesday, as unions and teachers joined high school students who for days have been demanding better learning conditions in protests punctuated by violent confrontations.

Students have blocked the entrances to hundreds of high schools for 15- to 17-year-olds since late September, complaining of missing teachers, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings that cannot cope with rising temperatures.

Unions, rights groups and the children have accused the authorities of using disproportionate force -- a police stun grenade tore the hand off one teenager on Monday and another youngster had his teeth knocked out last week after police fired a grenade launcher at his head.

"I'm afraid for my future," Selma, 15, told AFP without giving her surname, among the thousands marching in the country's second largest city of Marseille.

The unrest has erupted with just months to go before the 2027 election to choose a successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron, with far-right veteran candidate Marine Le Pen riding high in the polls despite a graft conviction.

"We just want to save our education and be educated," said Oceanne, 18, also at the protest in the southern port city.

She said she had suffered from absent teachers who were either not replaced or replaced by "pointless substitutes".

Another student held up a sign complaining of long hours at school.

"Timetables as packed as Le Pen's criminal record," it read, in a jab at the far-right presidential hopeful.

A major march was set to depart from central Paris in the early afternoon.

The interior ministry said 86,000 had already joined demonstrations across the rest of the country earlier Tuesday. The CGT union put that figure at 260,000 people.

In Rennes, in western France, teacher RomainDubourg said he and other teachers were present outside the Chateaubriand high school to show support.

"With about thirty colleagues, we talked about the police brutality we've witnessed and decided to be there for our students if they need us," he told AFP.

While many protests have been peaceful, some demonstrators have started fires, destroyed bus shelters or clashed with riot police.

Police have responded with batons, tear gas and riot-control rounds.

The government says 215 students and 715 police officers have been injured since the start of the movement.

A 15-year-old lost a hand to a sting-ball grenade fired by riot officers in the northern town of Lens on Monday.�"AFP

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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury

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