More than 400 individuals were detained in France on Tuesday amid a wave of intense violent protests across the country targeted at a faltering and overcrowded education system.
Over the past week several protests driven by high school students demanding better conditions for their crowded schools have taken place across France. The students have called for solutions to shortages of teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and other current shortcomings of the French education system.
France 24 detailed that the protests started in the of Ile-de-France region around Paris, but have now spread to other cities across the country in the following days.
Far from being peaceful demonstrations, the protests took a violent turn in Tuesday’s events.
Protesting students hold placards and wave flags as they carry out a blockade protest at the Gustave Eiffel high school in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on September 30, 2026. (Philippe LOPEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
Le Monde reports that anywhere between 200,000 and 300,000 protesters, between students, teachers, and public-sector workers protested across France’s main cities on Tuesday, demanding solutions to the loss of purchasing power and more resources in addition to the pre-existing demands of the students. The protesters went from blockading school access entries to setting fire to rubbish bins and hurling projectiles at law enforcement agents — leading to classes between the violent protesters and the police, who responded with batons and with tear gas.
At least 31 protesters were reportedly injured during the violent events. The protests took place just hours before the government led by President Emmanuel Macron is expected to present its 2027 budget draft — which, according to Reuters, contains significant budget cuts.
Per the BBC, the majority of the over 400 detained individuals on Tuesday were minors that participated in the protest, according to the French Interior Ministry.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez detailed to BFMTV on Tuesday night that at least 440 detentions took place during the protests across France — emphasizing that his office does not yet have the full figures.
“I’m told that two-thirds of these led [detentions] led to individuals being taken into police custody,” he said. “These arrests were primarily for property damage and attacks on internal security forces, in other words, violence against public officials.”
Nuñez reportedly defended the actions of the French law enforcement officials, stating that they responded to the violent protests in an “extremely proportionate manner.”
Speaking with the radio station RTL on Wednesday morning, Education Minister Édouard Geffray condemned the violent protests and called upon the protesters to cease their violent acts and express their demands through democratic channels. Yesterday’s scenes, Geffray stressed, are “unbelievable,”
“The right to demonstrate is a fundamental freedom. Democratic institutions must be respected. Violence is unacceptable,” he said, and stressed, “Honestly, this has to stop.”
Minister Geffray accused certain political movements, such as the far-left La France Insoumise, of “co-opting” and manipulating the the student protests .
Referring to the students’ demands, the Minister reportedly affirmed that some students have rightly pointed out that the nation needs substitute teachers to replace absent ones. Other demands, such as problems with facilities and cafeteria services, must be addressed “within an organized local framework.”
“A crime or an offense is never legitimate by definition in a democracy. We live in a state governed by the rule of law,” Geffray said. “What is legitimate are the demands, when they relate in this case to school life.”
Per RTL, French high school student unions are calling for a new round of protests on Thursday, October 1.