France school protests draw hundreds of thousands as police use tear gas

Hundreds of thousands of people joined demonstrations across France on Tuesday as high-school protests over education funding expanded to include parents, university students and trade unions. Police used tear gas in Paris and Marseille and water cannon in Rennes, while clashes were reported in Lyon. The government said more than 250,000 people took part and that activity was disrupted at 891 high schools, almost a quarter of all lycées.

Student unions gave a substantially higher estimate of 450,000 demonstrators and said 1,800 schools were blockaded. The competing figures could not be reconciled in the supplied reports. The demonstrations, described by protesters as “Act Three”, began in mid-September amid complaints about overcrowded classrooms, insufficient teaching staff and deteriorating school buildings.

In Paris, teenagers marched from the Place de la République seeking more resources and what they described as less police repression. The BBC reported that there was less serious disorder than during some earlier protests, although confrontations continued. In Marseille, masked demonstrators tried to build barricades with bins and bollards before riot officers fired tear gas and the crowd dispersed.

Police also used tear gas in Paris and water cannon in Rennes. The government says the unrest has already caused injuries on both sides. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said 215 students and 85 staff members had been hurt, along with 715 police officers, since the protests began.

He condemned earlier violence, while Education Minister Édouard Geffray accused “ultra-violent elements” of infiltrating the high-school movement. Students interviewed by the BBC said their grievances were rooted in school conditions rather than violence. One pupil in Marseille said schools were being closed and “falling apart”.

Another pointed to leaking ceilings and said the conditions made it difficult to work. The government’s response, including a website for students to submit complaints and an afternoon of school discussion planned for Friday, has so far failed to satisfy demonstrators. Police conduct has become a second major point of contention.

France’s IGPN police inspectorate is investigating allegations of disproportionate force. An officer who fired a tear-gas grenade at a pupil near Paris has been charged with violence resulting in mutilation or permanent disability; the pupil’s lawyer said the teenager suffered a fractured jaw and severe dental injuries. A separate incident in Lens left a 15-year-old with a hand torn off after an anti-encirclement grenade exploded.

Authorities said he picked up the device, while students alleged police fired it directly at him. The local prefect said officers had confronted 200 to 250 students throwing stones and fireworks. The dispute is also becoming political.

Lecornu accused the radical-left France Unbowed party of trying to “sow chaos” before presidential elections due in seven months. President Emmanuel Macron convened ministers to assess the situation, while the CGT union said further school and university protests were planned for Thursday. With the movement spreading and the government’s initial offers making little impression, there was no indication in the supplied reports that the demonstrations were close to ending.