Tens of thousands of French students are protesting against dilapidated infrastructure, overcrowded classes and overly busy timetables. The state reacts with strong repression. On Thursday the government presented the budget for 2027 with further cuts.

Students across France have been blocking their schools for around ten days. Theprotestsbegan in the suburbs of Paris and have now spread throughout the country, including major cities such as Lyon and Nice. It arrived on Thursdaymedia reportsto 900 actions. The protests have now also spread to some universities.

The students are protesting against overcrowded classes and timetables as well as too few staff and teachers at schools. In addition, the infrastructure is dilapidated, which is reflected, for example, in the fact that schools are always too hot in summer and too cold in winter.

Also playsocial selection and racisma role in the French education system that probably contributes to the escalation of the protests. There will be many tooSocial media– or cell phone bans in schools were cited as a reason for protest.

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Fire in school building

As the week progressed, the protests continued to escalate. Although there are peaceful protests in many places, there were vehicles burning or fireworks being used in some places. In Bordeaux, western France, a school building even came under firefire. According to authorities, a police officer in a Paris suburb suffered cuts to his face.

But even supposedly peaceful protests did not always protect students from repression. In the Paris suburb of Asnières sur SeinereportedStudents reported the use of tear gas during a peaceful blockade of the school building through a sit-in.

The French Minister of Education Édouard Geffray condemned riots and damage to property such as burning garbage cans. At the same time, he said that some of the violence appears to come from people outside of schools.

Thousands of arrests and serious injuries

The state responded with a large police presence.Interior MinisterLaurent Nuñez spoke on Thursday evening of an “expansion of the movement” and reported 625 arrests. Overall, the number of arrests since Monday is said to be atalmost 2000lay.

Education Minister Geffray said there had been 119 injuries since the unrest began, including students, education staff and security forces. More than 160 people were arrested in the area around the high schools on Monday.

On Wednesday morning there was one in Tours16 year old studentSeriously injured in the face during a blockade protest in front of the Lycée Balzac. Videos show the teenager sitting on the ground bleeding. Students and witnesses blame a shot with an LBD, a police rubber bullet launcher.

The police supervisory authority IGPN is investigating. Among other things, recordings from body cameras will be evaluated. The teenager is in hospital and, according to media reports, he is at risk of losing his eyesight.

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Solidarity through unions and LFIs

The left-wing party La France insoumise (LFI) in particular showed solidarity with the protests. Party leader Jean-Luc MélenchonexplainedSocial inequalities and racism triggered the protests and motivated students to continue protesting. In the Paris suburbstookThe LFI mayor himself also took part in the protests.

The left-wing French organization Révolution PermanentethrowsInterior Minister Laurent Nuñez suggested that he wanted to use repression to silence the protests. The government has no answer to the students' demands, other than social regression, and is therefore taking action against the youth.

Unions in the education sector have been criticizing the lack of staff and resources for years. Although the education budget for 2026 was increased slightly and additional positions were created, the unions believe that this is not enough to make up for the high need for renovation. In its new budget plans, the CGT union accuses the government of arson to encourage more protests.

The students receive broad support from the population. According to a survey by the French daily newspaper “Le Figaro”.62 percentof those surveyed considered the protests justified. On Tuesday, the student protests were also combined with union protests in the public sector against cuts and firefighters' strikes.

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Cuts in the new budget

The protest movement comes amid a tense domestic political situation in France. The French state is heavily indebted and is under additional pressure to reduce national debt due to rising interest rates. The French government presented the draft budget for the coming year 2028 on Thursday.

It includesCutsand savings of 54 billion euros. Among other things, social spending and pensions should grow more slowly and municipalities should pay higher taxes. Only arms spending is expected to increase by more than six billion euros.

However, the French economically liberal government currently has no majorities in parliament and is dependent on votes from the opposition parties. However, they are already in the election campaign for the upcoming presidential election in April 2027.

Left or right-wing or even fascist parties are therefore unlikely to agree to the austerity measures, which are extremely unpopular among the population. Last year, the government had to withdraw the planned pension reform as a concession to the budget compromise.

Prime Minister blames LFI

On Thursday evening, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called for an emergency meeting of members of the French government. Citing intelligence services, Lecornu said the LFI party “and its far-left allies” were behind the protest movement.

The LFI rejected the allegations. LFI coordinator Manuel Bomparddemandedthe government “not to fall into conspiracy theories”. In current polls for the upcoming presidential election, Mélenchon is the second strongest politician behind the fascist Marine Le Pen.

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