Tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected to descend on the streets of Paris on Tuesday as France‘s powerful trade unions will join far-Left student protests.
Weeks of pupil blockades protesting against failing school conditions have in recent days escalated into violent clashes with police across hundreds of campuses.
The 15- to 17-year-olds and many university students have walked out complaining of missing teachers, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings that cannot cope with rising temperatures.
The demonstrations quickly turned into pupils lighting dustbin fires, torching bus shelters and clashing with riot police, who have in turn responded with batons, tear gas and riot-control rounds.
The French government says 215 students and 715 officers have been injured since the start of the movement, with a 15-year-old reportedly losing his hand on Monday when he picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot police.
Footage from the scene showed several people tending to the young man as he lay on the pavement. His left hand appeared to be missing, with a bloody stump in its place.
Several people were heard screaming in the video. He was later seen slowly walking away from the scene.
Other reports claim he lost his arm up to his elbow but this has not been confirmed.
Tear gas is thrown during protest against current education conditions disrupt classes across the country in Nancy, France
High school students gather to protest against current education conditions in Nancy, France
Police clashes with high school students during protest against current education conditions
Firefighters arrive to extinguish a fire in front of Jean-Louis Cyffle high-school
The unrest has erupted with just months to go before the 2027 election to choose a successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron after his maximum two terms in office.
More protests are expected across the country on Tuesday after teaching was disrupted at 589 of the country’s 3,700 lycees – the equivalent of UK sixth forms – and 32 universities, according to the education ministry and a student union.
Also on Monday, hard-Left rioters set fire to the entrance of a Paris school, leaving teachers and pupils trapped inside.
Footage taken outside the Vauquelin high school in Paris showed violent thugs setting fire to the school’s entrance.
Through smashed glass, flames were seen licking the front doors of the school. The flames appeared to be coming from a blockade.
After several seconds, two men with fire extinguishers were seen trying in vain to douse the flames from inside the building.
However, the blaze grew in size and ferocity. Behind it, young thugs were seen throwing things into the blockade, fuelling the flames.
Local media reported that around 100 students needed to be evacuated from the school, adding that demonstrators were shooting fireworks at firefighters during the operation.
Carole Zerbib, head of the vandalised school, said it had been attacked by a ‘very determined’ group wearing hoods and masks who tried to break through its main entrance and then lit a fire.
The school is one of hundreds affected by violence that has plagued France since last week.
A protester launches a firework during clashes with the police in the streets near Paris
Firefighters carry out firefighting operations during a protest against current education conditions
Demonstrators clash with police officers during a student protest in Nancy as demonstrations and blockades continue around several high schools
Many educational institutes will begin a second week of closures ahead of a nationwide day of demonstrations today.
In Lille, northern France, Gaston Berger high school was blockaded on Monday morning. Students were seen gathering around a large bonfire.
And over in Caen, north-west France, the gate of Victor Hugo high school was set alight. Rioters appeared to have thrown bins and other large items into a pile before setting it on fire.
In central Paris, dozens of teenage students demonstrated outside a school while passing cars honked their horns. Some classmates made their way inside to attend lessons.
‘We’re missing our lessons to give you one,’ read one cardboard sign outside the Turgot high school in Paris’s third arrondissement.
In Bordeaux, in the south-west, some students returned to the classroom while others continued to demonstrate in front of riot police.
Some protesters outside the Gustave Eiffel high school aimed fireworks at police, who responded sporadically with tear gas.
Authorities are expecting some 20,000 to 40,000 demonstrators in Paris on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office has called for ‘peaceful’ gatherings, calling for a return to ‘a structured, legal and democratic form of opposition’.
The head of the CGT labour union Sophie Binet has said its members would be there to ‘protect high-school students’.
Several unions have accused the police of using disproportionate force against the protesters.
The police have launched ten internal investigations into allegations of brutality since they started, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said late Monday.
High school students stage a protest against current education conditions disrupt classes across the country
Police detain students at Sorbonne University following a confrontation on the campus
Police clashes with high school students during protest against current education conditions
High school students stage a protest against current education conditions
The government has sought to address the grievances, while accusing hard-Left activists of having hijacked the protest movement.
Since the start of the movement, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked, according to the education minister.
More than 5,000 people, 87 per cent of them minors, have been arrested. Mr Lecornu’s office said 85 teaching staff have also been injured.
The prime minister has sought to address the issue of missing teachers and renovating buildings that are dilapidated.
The government is also pushing legislation to make those responsible for damaging public property pay for repairs themselves, instead of using public funds.
Mr Lecornu has said the draft law could allow compensation payments to be recovered from family allowances and housing benefits while ensuring a minimum income.
Union leader Ms Binet has said it would ‘end up targeting the most vulnerable families’.
