Student unrest across France intensified on Thursday as high school pupils set fire to bins and erected barricades outside lycées in a growing number of cities, with university students joining the movement and blocking access to roughly 30 campuses nationwide. The protests, which began earlier in the week, have now spread beyond France's borders, with police in the Belgian city of Liège reporting demonstrations and damage at several schools.
According to a security source, around 900 blockades or related incidents were recorded across France on Thursday, and more than 160 schools were shut in Paris, Marseille and other cities. Hundreds of protesters have been detained since the start of the week, most of them minors. Several school principals have been injured, harassed or assaulted, according to regional education authorities, prefectures and union representatives, and there have been multiple reports of high school students being hurt.
Demands focus on resources and working conditions
At a Paris lycée where students barricaded an entrance, an 18-year-old said the protesters were targeting “overloaded schedules, the system, the teachers, people who don’t listen to us, the university application process.” French high school students often begin classes at 8am and remain until late afternoon. Another pupil in the capital described the psychological toll: “Older people say, ‘Kids, go to school from 8am to 6pm every day.’ But you don’t know what that does mentally.”
Secondary and high school organisations are calling above all for greater resources, replacement teachers and better teaching conditions. They say they intend to continue protesting, while the government tries to contain the violence and keep access to schools open. The movement has already led to several hundred arrests since the beginning of the week, mostly of minors, and three investigations have been opened by the IGPN, France's police oversight body, after injuries sustained during blockades.
In Tours, a student injured in the head on Wednesday was taken to hospital. According to the public prosecutor, his injuries were consistent with those of a non-lethal rubber bullet.
Clashes in Lille and Île-de-France
In Lille, the protest produced particularly tense scenes. Bins were tipped over onto the road, projectiles were thrown and street furniture was damaged. Police intervened to disperse demonstrators, charging into them and firing tear gas. In Paris and several communes across Île-de-France, clashes also broke out between young people and officers. The unrest follows a first nationwide day of action on Tuesday, when hundreds were detained as lycée protests spread beyond the capital.
Lower secondary schools were also affected in some regions. The wave of blockades has echoes of earlier unrest this autumn, when French students clashed with police as school blockades spread nationwide, and when protests persisted in Rennes with reports of vandalism.
The protests reflect deeper strains in France's education system, which faces chronic teacher shortages, ageing facilities and overcrowded classrooms. Similar pressures are visible elsewhere in Europe, from Greece's demographic crisis to debates over school funding in other member states. For now, French authorities are focused on restoring calm and ensuring schools remain accessible, while student organisations show no sign of backing down.
