Student protests in France turn into arson and violence

A wave of student protests in France, sparked by poor conditions in secondary schools and the government’s plans to cut the 2027 budget, has spiralled into violence and anarchy. Teachers are being beaten, police are attacked with firecrackers and stones, barricades are burning, and schools are being looted.

Attack on police in Paris

On Thursday morning an enraged crowd of protesters attacked a municipal police car in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, not far from one of the secondary schools. One officer suffered cuts to his hands and face, Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said. According to authorities in the Île-de-France region, the damage caused by the unrest around Paris amounted to roughly one million euros, or about 24.5 million crowns.

In Rouen and Petit-Quevilly, protesters attacked the principals of two schools right in front of the school buildings — an ambulance took both victims to hospital.

Cities halt public transport

The attacks are spreading to more and more cities. In Marseille, the local transport operator announced it was suspending all public transport — not just buses and trams but the metro too — after a brutal attack on a bus driver; in other cases, drivers had to flee for their safety.

In Strasbourg, tram service was suspended in order, according to the prefect of the Bas-Rhin department, to “limit the movement of rioters and demonstrators”. In the capital of Alsace, rioters are looting secondary schools. Public transport has also been halted in a number of other French cities.

A school in Nantes burned to the ground

Horrifying footage came out of Nantes, where fire destroyed a secondary school building. “It was arson,” said deputy headmistress Gaëlle Cordier. “There are no demands here, just a desire to sow chaos and destroy everything. This is not the youth of France!” wrote Christelle Morançais, head of the Pays de la Loire region, on the social network X.

The student protests broke out over overcrowded classrooms, unsanitary conditions in dilapidated buildings, and faulty heating and air conditioning — depending on the weather, classrooms are either freezing cold or unbearably hot. Students and teachers are also complaining about excessively long school days, a shortage of teachers, and insufficient funding for the education system.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz