Student riots engulf France as far-right presidential frontrunner Le Pen vows fiscal turnaround

Students carry out a blocking protest at the Cesar Baggio secondary school in Lille on September 29, 2026.Sameer Al-doumy | Afp | Getty ImagesMass student riots are escalating across France, with the violent clashes leading to arson, severe injuries and thousands of arrests. Protests erupted late last month in Paris, spreading into a nationwide movement that has seen students blockade schools and take to the streets to voice their discontent with teacher shortages, long days and dilapidated school buildings. Hundreds of schools have remained shuttered across the country as the rallies drag on. Education Minister Edouard Geffray said Monday evening that 190 students had been injured in the protests, with a 15-year-old boy reportedly losing a hand in clashes with riot police in the northern city of Lens. France's Justice Ministry said Monday that 5,060 people had been arrested since the protests started, 87% of whom are minors. Although Geffray said in an interview last week that the movement was "legitimate at the outset," France's Interior Ministry said the unrest "no longer has anything to do with the legitimate expression of high-school students' demands."Student body L'Union Étu...