Oct 2, 2026 02:02 AM
Teacher doused in petrol and schools on fire in France student riots: A headteacher was doused in petrol and fires were started in two school, officials have said, as violent student protests rage in France. The headteacher in Marseille’s Victor Hugo high school suffered injuries after the attack, the prosecutor’s office said, as thousands of young people rallied against staff shortages and dilapidated school buildings.
Outside the Saint-Exupery high school, in the same town, hundreds of young people surrounded a fire truck that had arrived to put out a blaze in the school building, forcing firefighters to flee the vehicle, before setting it alight. More than 600 people have been arrested in the widespread violence, which spread rapidly after starting as largely peaceful protests against the state of the education system, calling for better resources, building renovations, and good learning conditions.
What’s behind French student protests that turned violent?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/30...ed-violent
EXCERPTS: The protests are over conditions in France’s lycees, where students generally spend their final three years of secondary education, between the ages of 15 and 18.
Their complaints include large class sizes, absent teachers, inadequate school buildings and exhausting schedules. Outside the Lamartine lycee in Paris, students held placards protesting against their timetables, the UK’s Guardian newspaper reported. One read: “8am-6pm. More hours of lessons than sleep.”
Latour said the grievances had been building since heatwaves in June exposed problems with school buildings. “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.
“The current wave is happening 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 described their protest as “completely legitimate” and said poorer areas received fewer resources than wealthier ones.
Latour said some students also questioned the government’s priorities, pointing to 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 school protests coincided with a nationwide public-sector strike against the government’s proposed budget, which includes 54 billion euros ($61.3bn) of funding cuts and savings. Caroline Cheve, secretary-general of the FSU education union federation, said pupils and teachers essentially shared the same frustrations.
[...] Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu condemned violence outside schools and accused political opponents of encouraging an escalation. “Fireworks, fires, violence near high schools: nothing justifies endangering students, staff or police,” he wrote on X.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the left-wing France Unbowed party, accused the government of ordering a crackdown on high school students. “This brutality is irresponsible and has a clear racist undertone. Hands off our youth,” he wrote, calling on elected officials and party activists to intervene.
Lecornu called Melenchon’s intervention an “irresponsible escalation” and rejected the accusation of racism as “an insult”. “Exploiting their anger for partisan purposes is wrong,” he wrote.
The dispute comes as Lecornu seeks support for the 2027 budget in a divided parliament, while parties position themselves ahead of the presidential election next spring.
Latour said the school protests were unfolding amid wider anger over public services, high fuel prices and pressure on household finances. “The political climate is rather explosive because of the upcoming presidential election,” he said... (MORE - details)
https://youtu.be/GN1sAiQ6Lzk
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/GN1sAiQ6Lzk
Outside the Saint-Exupery high school, in the same town, hundreds of young people surrounded a fire truck that had arrived to put out a blaze in the school building, forcing firefighters to flee the vehicle, before setting it alight. More than 600 people have been arrested in the widespread violence, which spread rapidly after starting as largely peaceful protests against the state of the education system, calling for better resources, building renovations, and good learning conditions.
What’s behind French student protests that turned violent?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/30...ed-violent
EXCERPTS: The protests are over conditions in France’s lycees, where students generally spend their final three years of secondary education, between the ages of 15 and 18.
Their complaints include large class sizes, absent teachers, inadequate school buildings and exhausting schedules. Outside the Lamartine lycee in Paris, students held placards protesting against their timetables, the UK’s Guardian newspaper reported. One read: “8am-6pm. More hours of lessons than sleep.”
Latour said the grievances had been building since heatwaves in June exposed problems with school buildings. “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.
“The current wave is happening 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 described their protest as “completely legitimate” and said poorer areas received fewer resources than wealthier ones.
Latour said some students also questioned the government’s priorities, pointing to 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 school protests coincided with a nationwide public-sector strike against the government’s proposed budget, which includes 54 billion euros ($61.3bn) of funding cuts and savings. Caroline Cheve, secretary-general of the FSU education union federation, said pupils and teachers essentially shared the same frustrations.
[...] Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu condemned violence outside schools and accused political opponents of encouraging an escalation. “Fireworks, fires, violence near high schools: nothing justifies endangering students, staff or police,” he wrote on X.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the left-wing France Unbowed party, accused the government of ordering a crackdown on high school students. “This brutality is irresponsible and has a clear racist undertone. Hands off our youth,” he wrote, calling on elected officials and party activists to intervene.
Lecornu called Melenchon’s intervention an “irresponsible escalation” and rejected the accusation of racism as “an insult”. “Exploiting their anger for partisan purposes is wrong,” he wrote.
The dispute comes as Lecornu seeks support for the 2027 budget in a divided parliament, while parties position themselves ahead of the presidential election next spring.
Latour said the school protests were unfolding amid wider anger over public services, high fuel prices and pressure on household finances. “The political climate is rather explosive because of the upcoming presidential election,” he said... (MORE - details)
https://youtu.be/GN1sAiQ6Lzk
