Teargas and Stones Erupt in France as 400,000 Demand School Reforms

Protests over school conditions and policing tactics have reached a peak in France, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets on Saturday. President Emmanuel Macron faces growing political pressure as the movement enters its final months in office. The government stated that at least 400,000 people marched across the country, a figure trade unions argued was too low, claiming the actual count reached 800,000.

The unrest began in mid-September when high school students aged 15 to 18 started protesting. Their initial complaints focused on staff shortages, leaking roofs, crumbling structures, and a lack of seating in overcrowded classrooms. The movement has since expanded to include trade unions, teachers, and parents, forming the largest youth-led protest in France in years.

In Paris, government estimates indicated that 110,000 people marched along the eastern edge of the city. The atmosphere remained calm for much of the afternoon, with brass bands playing and families participating. Banners carried by marchers displayed slogans such as "Oppression breeds rebellion" and "The right to protest." Tensions rose near Porte de Vincennes, where groups of masked men threw glass bottles and stones at police lines.

Officers responded with teargas, water cannons, and stun grenades. A trash bin was set on fire, and fireworks were launched toward the police. Similar clashes occurred in other major cities. Teargas was used in Lyon, Lille, Montpellier, Nantes, and Toulouse to keep protesters from entering city centers. In Marseille, protesters lit bin fires during confrontations with police.

The scale of the police presence reflected the government's concern after the previous weekend, which saw one of the most violent days of unrest in years. Public buildings were burned, hundreds of shops were looted, and at least 2,700 people were arrested. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced that 135 people had been arrested on Saturday. He listed confiscated items, which included metal balls, lead pellets, slingshots, a katana sword, and airsoft weapons.

Critics directed anger at the administration for banning non-union demonstrations and keeping protesters away from central areas. Jérôme Rodrigues, a figure from the 2018 yellow vest movement, said the government was pushing demonstrators to the city's edges to keep them away from places of power. He predicted that demonstrations would continue every weekend. In Orléans, thousands marched against a congress of Marine Le Pen's National Rally party, chanting slogans demanding Macron's resignation and Le Pen's imprisonment.