French High School Protests Spread Nationwide as 440 Detained Amid Clashes Over Classroom Conditions

Protests by high school students over poor learning conditions have escalated across France, resulting in more than 400 detentions and violent confrontations between demonstrators and police in multiple cities. The unrest, which began in the Paris region last week, has since spread to towns and cities throughout the country, coinciding with a nationwide public-sector strike against the government's proposed budget cuts.

According to the French education ministry, roughly 400 of the country's 3,700 lycees—the high schools that serve students in their final three years of secondary education, typically aged 15 to 18—have been affected by the protests. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told BFM TV on Tuesday that 440 people had been detained nationwide, a figure he described as not yet final. Approximately two-thirds of those detained were subsequently placed in police custody, he said.

The demonstrations first took hold in Paris, where teenagers blockaded their schools for several days before the movement expanded this week. On Tuesday, protesters in Lille, in northern France, set fire to rubbish bins outside a high school and threw bottles, paving stones and other projectiles at officers. Similar confrontations were reported in Bordeaux, Rennes, Nantes, Lyon and Marseille. In some instances, police responded with tear gas after bus shelters and advertising hoardings were vandalised.

At the Lycee Brequigny in Rennes, Brittany's largest high school, around 100 students threw projectiles at the building, according to an AFP video journalist. In Nantes, students piled up rubbish bins at the entrance to the Lycee Gabriel Guist'hau, AFP reported. About 80 students gathered outside the Lamartine school in Paris, carrying placards with slogans complaining of receiving "More hours of lessons than sleep."

Nunez condemned protesters who arrived with their faces covered and carrying projectiles, stating there was no justification for seeking confrontations with law enforcement. He also noted seven separate incidents in which hydrochloric acid was thrown at police. Authorities reported that 48 law enforcement officers were injured during the clashes. AFP reported that police carrying riot shields struck students with batons when a crowd formed in the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis.

The protests reflect long-standing grievances over conditions in France's high schools. Students have cited large class sizes, absent teachers who are not replaced, inadequate school buildings and exhausting daily schedules. Vincent Latour, a professor of British studies at Universite Toulouse Jean Jaures, told Al Jazeera that discontent had been building since heatwaves in June exposed the poor state of school facilities. "There has been discontent since successive heatwaves in June this year, which revealed the poor state of schools, with poor insulation and no air conditioning," he said.

Latour added that the movement continues to expand. "The number of secondary schools involved has doubled over the last couple of days," he told Al Jazeera. He described the current wave of protests as occurring "against a background of difficult conditions: missing teachers, teachers who are absent and not replaced, continued difficult material conditions, and discontent over working conditions and pay."

In Saint-Denis, north of Paris, Mayor Bally Bagayoko joined hundreds of students outside the Paul-Eluard lycee. He characterised their protest as "completely legitimate" and pointed out that poorer areas receive fewer resources than wealthier ones. Latour also noted that some students question the government's priorities, particularly its emphasis on restrictions such as the ban on wearing the abaya in state schools. "Some students argue they should concentrate on what matters: offering pupils and students decent learning conditions," he said.

The student movement has coincided with a nationwide public-sector strike against the government's proposed budget, which includes 54 billion euros ($61.3bn) in funding cuts and savings. Caroline Cheve, secretary-general of the FSU education union federation, said pupils and teachers share essentially the same frustrations. "They're in overcrowded classrooms. Sometimes they don't have enough teachers because of staffing shortages. They see the same reality as we do, and they're angry," she said.

The government has also proposed freezing state employees' base salaries in 2027, a move intended to save approximately 2 billion euros ($2.27bn). Unions have opposed the measure, arguing it would further erode working conditions and purchasing power for public sector workers. The combination of student protests and labour strikes has created mounting political pressure for President Emmanuel Macron ahead of next year's presidential election.

The scale of the detentions—particularly the high proportion of minors involved—has raised concerns about the handling of the demonstrations. Many of those held were high school students, prompting questions about police tactics and the treatment of young protesters. The interior minister's remarks condemning masked protesters and the use of projectiles appeared aimed at framing the violence as the work of agitators rather than ordinary students.

The education ministry's figure of 400 affected schools represents roughly 11 percent of all lycees in France, though the actual number of students participating in blockades and demonstrations is likely far higher. The movement's rapid spread from the Paris region to cities across the country suggests that the grievances it represents resonate widely among French teenagers and their families.

The protests also highlight broader tensions over public spending priorities in France. The proposed budget cuts have united students and public-sector workers in opposition, creating a coalition of discontent that spans education, health care and other public services. With the presidential election on the horizon, the government faces the challenge of addressing these grievances without abandoning its fiscal objectives.

As the movement continues to gain momentum, it remains unclear whether authorities will adjust their approach to the protests or the underlying budget proposals. For now, the blockades and demonstrations show no signs of abating, with students and unions vowing to maintain pressure on the government over what they describe as unacceptable conditions in France's schools and public services.