Police used tear gas and a water cannon against students protesting education funding in France on Thursday, Oct. 8. The Education Ministry said 375 schools were fully or partly closed. At least a dozen demonstrations were planned nationwide. At Hélène Boucher high school in northeastern Paris, students blocked the entrance with garbage bins before police moved in. The dispute is about classrooms and staff; the state sent riot police.
At Place de la Bastille, police fired tear gas and used a water cannon as well. Some protesters threw projectiles at riot police. Officers later charged demonstrators with batons while clearing the square. The Interior Ministry said 504 people were arrested and 48 officers injured on Thursday. Separately, it reported more than 6,600 arrests since students began protesting in late September. Many are under 18.
The classroom and the police line
Students point to staff shortages and deteriorating school buildings. Emma Khelil, an 18-year-old university student who returned to support protesters at her former high school, said the building had insulation problems and water leaks, and that she had sometimes seen rats. “We're here to defend our rights, not to lose an eye or a hand,” she told The Associated Press.
In Marseille, teacher Diane Di Sciullo said she had 37 students in her class. “At the start of every lesson, I have to ask them to check the neighbouring classrooms for spare chairs and desks so they can actually study,” she said. Her placard read: “I'm a teacher and my students help me catch cockroaches in class.” In Paris, student Madalena said teachers could be absent for several weeks without a replacement. During recent heat waves, she described her school as “boiling hot.”
The government has promised more teachers. Education Minister Édouard Geffray pledged 3,000 replacement teachers “in the coming days”; Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said 3,024 supply teachers would be deployed, with priority for 114 secondary schools facing the greatest difficulties. Geffray said officials would make assignments between Friday and Tuesday. Lecornu also said the government would propose amendments to the 2027 budget to turn some student proposals into measures.
Those pledges haven't convinced everyone. “We don't want words, we want action,” 17-year-old Camille told AFP in Nantes. Outside a Rennes high school, Hanaa, 18, said she was “disappointed and unconvinced” by Lecornu's remarks. Her fellow student Salyna, 17, agreed: “We expected more from him.”
Order, elections and the right to protest
Lecornu said security forces hadn't been ordered to confront high-school students, but to enforce the law. He accused political leaders of turning anger into electoral battles and said, “We cannot play with the safety of France's youth.” He also accused LFI, the largest single left-wing party in parliament, of stirring protests with a “political agenda” to “throw the country into chaos” ahead of the 2027 presidential election. LFI accused police of responding disproportionately, including toward minors.
The French branch of UNICEF called for “a de-escalation of violence” and “the protection of minors,” and urged authorities to respect young people's right to demonstrate peacefully. Live coverage reported an investigation after a 17-year-old boy suffered a head injury outside a secondary school in Marseille. The government suspended stun-grenade use after a 15-year-old boy lost his hand in a clash with riot police.
Students aren't waiting for permission to set the agenda. “Until we have 10 billion euros on the table, we will continue to take action,” said Sabrine Kharbach, a student union spokesperson, calling for a larger nationwide demonstration. Unions representing teachers, students and high-school pupils called for a nationwide strike on Tuesday, Oct. 13. At Place de la République, signs read “More money for repression than for our education” and “Who protects us from the police?”
Organizing beyond the official script
At the Bastille rally, 15-year-old Jeanne said, “Everyone has the right to be educated at the same level. There shouldn't be people who are more educated than others when we're all in the public education system.” Sofia Ferdials, 18, said: “We're here, we're demonstrating, and we won't stop. Until October, November, December if necessary. Nothing will stop us.”
Dounia Gergeon, a school librarian, said students “do not feel supported” and “feel cornered and forced to work under these conditions.” Her middle and high school had set aside time for students to discuss their demands. In Paris, Bally Bagayoko, mayor of Saint-Denis, stood between police and young protesters in filmed footage and told officers “stop.” He told Reuters that police had charged and pursued students, “many of whom had shown no aggressive behaviour whatsoever toward the police officers.”
Khelil said she expected the movement to grow if conditions didn't change, and raised “a convergence of struggles” as the presidential election approached. The government says it will announce a plan by the end of October. Students want something less abstract: usable classrooms, enough teachers, and the freedom to protest without being met by force.