Weeks of student protest over crumbling French classrooms spilled into days of violence over the past weekend, as rallies that began with complaints about missing teachers and dilapidated schools were overtaken by looting, arson and clashes with police in several major cities.
The unrest built on more than 250,000 people who marched nationwide on October 6, a protest that had already drawn in teachers, parents and union members alongside students frustrated by overcrowded classrooms, staff shortages and buildings that cannot cope with rising temperatures. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said at least 215 teenagers and 85 school staff were hurt in confrontations with police that week, along with more than 700 officers, and that roughly 6,100 people had been arrested since the protests began. In one of the most serious incidents, a 15-year-old in northern France lost his hand and part of his forearm after picking up a police grenade.
Over the weekend that followed, the unrest escalated further. Hundreds of shops were looted and the historic city hall in Limoges was set ablaze, while public buildings in Paris, Marseille and Bordeaux also came under attack. Organizers and officials largely agreed that the vandalism was driven less by the original school grievances than by separate anger over rising fuel prices and the broader cost of living, with looters attaching themselves to a movement that had, until then, stayed largely peaceful.