Tear gas fires as French school protests sweep the nation

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across France, as a wave of protests by high‑school pupils spread to parents, university students and unions.

In Paris, teenagers from the Place de la République marched demanding better resources for schools and less police repression. Police clashed, tear gas filled the air and at least 215 students and 85 staff were injured along with 715 officers.

The unrest has spread to other cities: Lyon saw water cannons, Rennes fought with shouts, and Marseille witnessed thousands of masked protesters who barricaded themselves from police. Riot officers fired tear gas, dispersing the crowd.

"Most of us aren't violent," said Alissa, a student in Marseille. “We go to the streets because schools have closed… schools are falling apart.” Her friend Sacha added that leaking ceilings and poor conditions leave students unable to study.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu denounced the violence and highlighted the scale: 891 high schools were disrupted on Tuesday, a quarter of all lycées, and more than 250,000 demonstrators took to the streets. Student unions reported 450,000 participants and 1,800 blockaded schools in what they called “Act Three.”

Education Minister Édouard Geffray appealed for dialogue, warning that “ultra‑violent elements” infiltrated the movement. Yet the government’s offers – a website for grievances and a school discussion afternoon – have made little headway.

Parliamentary actions have also rattled the political landscape. The radical‑left France Unbowed (LFI) party was accused of sowing chaos ahead of the June presidency. With President Emmanuel Macron’s second term ending soon, LFI’s Jean‑Luc Mélenchon is a leading rival to Marine Le Pen.

Investigations by the IGPN police inspectorate continue after incidents of disproportionate force: a tear‑gas grenade hit a 14‑year‑old in Saint‑Ouen‑l’Aumône, and a 15‑year‑old’s hand was severed near Lens after a grenade was fired. Both officers have faced charges for violence.

As the protests enter their third week, France’s largest union, CGT, plans further demonstrations on Thursday. The government is under increasing pressure to deliver concrete reforms to the faltering education system, but the impasse suggests the street protests may endure until meaningful change arrives.