Student protests across France spiraled into scenes of violence and destruction Thursday, with schools set on fire, a fire truck torched and teachers splashed with gasoline as unrest over deteriorating school conditions spread across the country.
The most alarming scenes unfolded in Marseille, where hundreds of young people gathered outside Saint-Exupéry high school as firefighters arrived to extinguish a blaze.
According to authorities, members of the crowd forced firefighters away from their vehicle before the truck itself was set on fire. Public transportation in Marseille was also suspended after staff members were injured amid the unrest.
Another frightening incident occurred at Marseille’s Victor Hugo high school.
Initial reports from prosecutors described teachers as having been attacked and deliberately “doused” in gasoline. However, officials later clarified that two teachers were apparently splashed accidentally when a student attempted to pour gasoline into a burning trash container.
That distinction is significant, as early reports made the episode appear to be a deliberate gasoline attack on school staff.
The unrest was not limited to Marseille.
A fire broke out at Nelson Mandela high school in Nantes, forcing people inside the building to evacuate and preventing arriving students from entering. Officials said no injuries were reported there.
Fire also damaged part of a high school in Le Havre, while violence and clashes were reported in several other French cities, including Strasbourg and Toulouse.
The turmoil marks a dramatic escalation of demonstrations that began in late September as students protested teacher shortages, aging school buildings and what some say are unacceptable classroom conditions.
By Wednesday, September 30, disruptions had spread to 356 high schools across France, according to Reuters.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray said 119 people had been injured since the protests began, including students and school employees. Many of the injured staff members were principals and teachers.
The number of people detained has also climbed sharply.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said approximately 625 people were detained Wednesday after more than 440 were detained the previous day. Most were minors, according to the minister.
Authorities also reported several especially serious incidents, including seven cases in which hydrochloric acid was allegedly thrown toward law enforcement officers.
Students involved in the demonstrations say their anger is rooted in problems that go far beyond politics.
One 17-year-old student in Saint-Denis told Reuters that her school struggled with rats and cockroaches and that classroom temperatures could become extremely hot or cold depending on the weather.
Other students have complained of overcrowding, insufficient teachers and inadequate resources.
At the same time, some protesters have accused police of responding too aggressively, pointing to the use of tear gas and other crowd-control weapons.
In Saint-Denis, north of Paris, students faced lines of riot police Thursday as fires burned nearby. One demonstrator carried a sign asking whether students could make themselves heard without being tear-gassed.
French officials have acknowledged complaints about conditions inside the country’s schools while condemning violence associated with some of the demonstrations.
Nunez said authorities had identified people moving between schools and encouraging others to engage in violence.
The French government also held a crisis meeting Thursday as officials attempted to contain the increasingly volatile demonstrations.
A government source said French intelligence services told the meeting that the protest movement had been encouraged by the hard-left France Unbowed party, known as LFI, and associated groups.
France Unbowed rejected that accusation.
LFI lawmaker Louis Boyard said his party supports nonviolent demonstrations and argued that the government’s response had intensified students’ anger. The allegation about the party’s role therefore remains disputed rather than an established finding.
The protests are also unfolding at an especially sensitive time for the French government.
France unveiled its proposed 2027 budget Thursday, including spending cuts intended to ease pressure on the country’s finances. The demonstrations had already coincided with a wider public-sector strike involving workers unhappy with government spending plans.
Education Minister Geffray has urged schools that cannot safely open because of blockades to move classes online rather than cancel lessons entirely.
He also announced plans to meet Friday with representatives from teacher unions, parent organizations and student groups as officials search for a way to defuse the crisis.
The government now faces two problems at once: addressing grievances about conditions inside French schools while attempting to prevent demonstrations from producing further violence and destruction.
With protests spreading from the Paris region to cities across the country in barely a week, officials will be watching closely to see whether the movement begins to calm — or whether another round of school blockades brings more clashes.
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