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French police make hundreds of arrests as student school blockades spread
October 2, 2026
Student blockades of French high schools have led to hundreds of arrests and dozens of injuries, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has told ministers to cancel trips.
France holds a presidential election next May to replace Emmanuel Macron, whom the constitution bars from a third consecutive term, while the government faces growing financial problems.
Key facts
- AP News reports that the protests add to strain on a French government already struggling with money troubles, and that they are drawing attention away from the 2027 austerity budget it unveiled Thursday.
- Salama Gargouri, an 18-year-old at a Paris high school whose entrance students had blocked, said the protesters are aiming at "overloaded schedules, the system, the teachers, people who don't listen to us, the university application process."
- In France, a typical high school day begins around 8 a.m. and lasts until late in the afternoon.
- Education Minister Edouard Geffray said that during Thursday's unrest one school was torched and some employees had gasoline poured on them.
AP News reports that the demonstrations began in schools around Paris last week and have since grown, with police arresting hundreds of young protesters. Its account says authorities count many dozens of injured, some hit by thrown objects and some, in suspected cases, by police riot-control projectiles. Education Minister Edouard Geffray describes a school set alight and staff doused with gasoline, and AP News carries his post on X. Geffray wrote, “Violence will not deprive our students of their fundamental right to education.” He also ordered remote classes where blockades or damage put pupils at risk, and the interior minister told police to clear blockades and halt vandalism.
The students describe their grievances in their own words. AP News reports that Salama Gargouri, 18, wants the protests to take aim at heavy timetables, teachers and the university application process. “Older people say, 'Kids, go to school from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.' But you don't know what that does mentally,” said Janna Tahari. Juliette Estiville, a Spanish teacher, says the crackdown drew her to the students' side. “So, I'm here just to provide protection, to form a barrier between the police and the students,” Juliette Estiville said.
The unrest now reaches into politics. AP News reports that the office of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu asked ministers to drop planned trips so police and officials can focus on the protests, which also overshadow the release of the government's cost-cutting budget for 2027. Jean-Luc Mélenchon calls the government response repressive, while his critics accuse his party of stoking violence ahead of the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron. BBC, CNN, NBC News and PBS carry the same account of arrests, injuries and the government response, and none of the five outlets disputes it.
“Older people say, 'Kids, go to school from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.' But you don't know what that does mentally,” Janna Tahari said.
Janna Tahari
Still developing
The suspected cases of injuries from police riot-control projectiles stand as the last development at the time of this draft.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- AP News — Student protests grip France as Prime Minister Lecornu calls crisis meeting
- BBC — France school protests: Hundreds of schools closed and 40 headteachers hurt
- CNN — Students and police clash as France’s government struggles to calm student tensions
- NBC News — 2,000 arrested in France as student protests escalate into violence
Toggle read the full reports of all 5 outlets counted on this event.