Between 400 and 500 secondary schools in France were expected to suspend classes, fully or partly, on Monday. Pupils continue to protest crumbling buildings and staff shortages, and clashes with police have now stretched across several days. Education Minister Édouard Geffray told France 2 and France Inter that "between 400 and 500 suspended classes" had taken place on Friday. "There will probably be just as many on Monday," he said, "but with a gradual, partial resumption of classes."
The Ministry of Education said classes would be suspended "totally or partially" where security conditions "are not met".
What the Pupils Are Asking For
The movement started two weeks earlier at Saint-Exupéry secondary school in Créteil, in the Paris suburbs. Pupils supported striking teachers who denounced a lack of staff and resources. Over the following week, the protests spread across the country.
The pupils' grievances are concrete. They cite unsafe, insanitary buildings, overcrowded classes and timetables they say are impossible to manage. They also point to staff shortages and teacher absences that schools don't systematically cover. Some oppose the ban on mobile phones in schools, too.
On Friday morning, Geffray met pupil representatives. Afterwards, they said they had received no "concrete measures" and called for protests to continue. A third nationwide mobilisation, billed as "act III", is planned for Tuesday, after protest days on 29 September and 1 October.
Violence, Arrests and Injuries
The human toll is mounting on several fronts. Geffray said 24 of the 735 affected schools had suffered fires or ransacking, and that "78 staff members" from the Ministry of Education had been injured "since the start of the events". The Interior Ministry said the unrest had led to nearly 5,000 arrests since Monday.
In Tours, a young man injured in Wednesday's clashes between pupils and police lost sight in his right eye, the local prosecutor said. In La Ciotat, a 59-year-old teacher was doused in petrol and beaten during a pupil demonstration. Police arrested a 16-year-old boy suspected of the attack in Marseille on Sunday morning and took him into custody. In Belfort, a group of young people chased, beat and repeatedly kicked a police officer. Two people were taken into custody.
Police used tear gas, rubber bullets, defensive ball launchers (LBDs) and batons to disperse some demonstrators in several major cities.
Government and Unions Clash Over the Response
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez defended the security forces on Sunday morning and rejected claims that their response was "disproportionate". He said "the police do not repress young people" but "protect" pupils and students who want to "advance their demands peacefully". Police would intervene "firmly and without delay" against "damage, violence [and] abuses" by troublemakers. He also denied that officers were targeting "racialised young people from working-class neighbourhoods", calling that claim a "blaming narrative totally disconnected from the real world".
All teachers' unions said Sunday they would join the pupils' protest. "Their demands are legitimate, and we support them all the more because they are at the heart of our own mobilisations denouncing the lack of resources for several years now," they said in a press release. The unions said the government response had been limited to security-force intervention. They added: "Reports from pupils who have been injured, assaulted and threatened are increasing by the day. This is unacceptable."
What Comes Next
Le Parisien reported that the government intends to bring forward the timetable for the "casseurs-payeurs" bill. It would require people who take part in violent gatherings to contribute to repair costs, even when they aren't directly responsible for the damage. The Senate is due to examine it at the end of October.
Why This Matters: So far, the facts show two parallel stories. Pupils and every teachers' union describe years of underfunding, unsafe buildings and unfilled posts. Meanwhile, the state's visible response has centred on policing, mass arrests and a bill aimed at the costs of damage. Both sets of harm are on record: a young man blinded in one eye, a teacher beaten, a police officer attacked, and 78 education staff injured. For families and staff, the question is whether talks on classroom conditions will move as fast as the security measures. Pupils left Friday's meeting saying they had received no concrete measures, and that gap is what Tuesday's third day of action will test.