School protests spread as fires, blockades deepen unrest in France

What the report says

Police in France have detained hundreds of students as protests over school conditions widened into a broader wave of unrest, according to Al Jazeera’s report citing AFP, AP and Reuters. The demonstrations, which spread across several cities on October 1, 2026, centered on overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and deteriorating facilities at high schools and some university campuses.

The article says students burned bins, built blockades and disrupted entrances to schools in places including Marseille, Nantes, Strasbourg and Aubervilliers near Paris. Regional authorities and union representatives reported that several school principals were injured, harassed or assaulted during the blockades. In Marseille, officials said a firetruck was forced to retreat before being set alight at one school, while another school saw teachers splashed during an incident involving petrol. In Strasbourg, trams were halted and barriers burned on tracks.

The unrest spread beyond schools, with student unions saying about 30 university campuses were blocked and police reporting that more than 160 schools were shut down. Many dozens of injuries were reported, though the article notes some were from thrown objects and others reportedly from police riot-control projectiles. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said internal investigations were opened into brutality allegations involving three students.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu convened a crisis meeting, and Education Minister Edouard Geffray planned talks with unions, parents and student groups. The protests have also entered France’s political debate ahead of next year’s presidential race, with the government accusing the far-left France Unbowed party of encouraging unrest while that party denied backing violence.