Demonstrators clash with riot police in France as education protests mount

School blockades and clashes intensify in France as frustration mounts over government inaction on educational needs.

Students of Lycée Turgot demonstrate and blockade their school on October 5, 2026 in Paris, France [Tom Nicholson/Getty Images]

Police have fired tear gas at protesters blockading French high schools as tens of thousands of students and activists rally across France in a mounting wave of protests demanding government improvements to the education system.

Students in Marseille, Nantes and Lyon began demonstrations on Tuesday morning, with demonstrators holding aloft signs which read “they don’t really care about us” and “survive or study”.

list 1 of 3 France to shutter up to 500 schools as more student protests called

list 2 of 3 Teenager loses hand in blast amid French school protest clashes

list 3 of 3 France’s student protests grow as hundreds of schools close

In Strasbourg, Lyon and Rennes, the protests turned violent at times, with police firing tear gas and protesters lighting fires in the streets and hurling projectiles.

The protests started two weeks ago in Paris’s disadvantaged suburbs, lighting a blaze that has spread across the country. The government said that the movement has turned into urban violence and has deployed riot police to some rallies.

Students chant slogans during a demonstration against under-resourced schools, in Paris on Tuesday [Teresa Suarez/AP Photo]

On Monday, a 15-year-old’s hand was blown off during clashes between high-schoolers and the police in northern France. The government said that around 200 to 250 protesters had thrown objects at the police.

A French newspaper, La Voix du Nord said that the teenager lost his hand and part of his arm after he picked a police grenade during the protest.

Nearly 2,000 high schools have been blockaded or closed for the day, according to the High School Students Union.

“When the answer is violence, it means democracy is no longer working,” said Hugo Vetzel, a recent high school graduate in Strasbourg preparing to attend France’s top universities. “There is such a gap between the elites and us.”

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has ordered ministers to address the students’ demands, including replacing underskilled teachers, making lunch breaks longer and changing the length of the school day.

Lecornu also said that the governments will look into repairing old campuses, as he demanded ministers send in proposals by the end of October.

France’s Ministry of Interior said that it has arrested 6,100 people since the beginning of the protests, the majority of them under the age of eighteen. The Ministry of Justice announced that over 1,800 will be prosecuted, including 1,483 minors.

During the protests, at least 215 teenagers have been wounded along with 715 police officers, according to Lecornu.

由于民众对政府在满足教育需求方面的不作为日益不满，法国的学校封锁和冲突事件不断升级。

2026年10月5日，法国巴黎杜尔哥中学的学生举行示威游行，并封锁了学校。[汤姆·尼科尔森/盖蒂图片社]

在法国各地，数万名学生和活动人士举行集会，要求政府改善教育体系，抗议浪潮不断升级。抗议者封锁了法国的高中，警方向抗议者发射了催泪瓦斯。

周二上午，马赛、南特和里昂的学生开始举行示威活动，示威者高举标语，上面写着“他们根本不在乎我们”和“要么生存，要么学习”。

法国因更多学生抗议活动将关闭多达500所学校（列表1/3）

列表 2/3：法国校园抗议冲突中，一名青少年在爆炸中失去一只手

法国数百所学校关闭，学生抗议活动愈演愈烈（共3条，此为第3条）

在斯特拉斯堡、里昂和雷恩，抗议活动一度演变成暴力事件，警方发射催泪瓦斯，抗议者在街头纵火并投掷物品。

两周前，抗议活动在巴黎贫困郊区爆发，随后迅速蔓延至全国。政府表示，这场运动已演变为城市暴力事件，并已在部分集会现场部署了防暴警察。

周二，在巴黎，学生们举行示威游行，抗议学校资源匮乏，并高喊口号。[Teresa Suarez/AP Photo]

周一，法国北部高中生与警方发生冲突，一名15岁少年的手被炸断。政府称，约有200至250名抗议者向警方投掷物品。

法国报纸《北方之声》报道称，这名少年在抗议活动中捡起一枚警方的手榴弹后失去了一只手和部分手臂。

据高中学生联盟称，近2000所高中已被封锁或停课一天。

“当暴力成为解决之道时，就意味着民主已经失效了，”斯特拉斯堡一位即将进入法国顶尖大学就读的高中毕业生雨果·韦策尔说道，“精英阶层和我们之间存在着巨大的鸿沟。”

法国总理塞巴斯蒂安·勒科尔努已命令各部长解决学生的要求，包括更换技能不足的教师、延长午休时间和改变上课时间。

莱科尔努还表示，政府将考虑修缮旧校区，并要求部长们在 10 月底前提交提案。

法国内政部表示，自抗议活动开始以来，已逮捕6100人，其中大多数未满18岁。司法部宣布，将对1800多人提起诉讼，其中包括1483名未成年人。

据莱科尔努称，在抗议活动中，至少有 215 名青少年和 715 名警察受伤。