Riot police are clashing with students in France, with an estimated 260,000 people taking to the streets to protest school conditions.
Tear gas has been fired at protesters blockading French high schools as students, teachers and parents turn out for the biggest day of demonstrations against understaffed and dilapidated classrooms so far.
A 1-year-old baby was hospitalised on Tuesday morning after being hit by a firework mortar near a blockaded school in Saint-Cyr-l’École, close to Versailles, according to Le Parisien.
The infant was taken to hospital for tinnitus and a high school student was arrested after the firework struck the baby in their pram.
While in Strasbourg, Lyon and Rennes, the demonstrations at times turned violent, with protesters lighting fires in the streets and hurling projectiles.
In Marseille and Nantes, protesters held up signs marked with “The state has killed national education” and other messages, in largely peaceful rallies.
In Tours, where around 5,000 people were estimated to be demonstrating, a 19-year-old student protester told The Independent: ““We will fight till we win, till our voices are heard and changes happen.”
Up to 40,000 people were estimated to be marching through the streets of Paris.
It comes after a week of increasingly violent nationwide protests that have seen more than 5,000 people arrested.
A total of 215 students and 85 education staff have been injured so far since the protests started, according to Sébastien Lecornu, the French prime minister. In one incident on Monday, a 15-year-old student had their hand blown off after picking up a stun grenade being used by police.
Some 2,000 schools across the country have been blockaded during Tuesday’s demonstrations, with 891 high schools having lessons completely or partially suspended.
Lecornu has said classes will be suspended from tomorrow morning through to Friday.
This is to “allow each management team, each headteacher, to have time for internal democracy within high schools,” Lecornu told delegates at the National Assembly.
Key Points
- Riot police use tear gas and streets set on fire
- Baby hospitalised after being struck by firework in their pram
- Donald Trump says French protests are "out of control mass migration"
- French prime minister says classes will be suspended until Friday
- 50,000 set to demonstrate across Paris today as violent displays escalate
- In pictures: Students start to gather for today's mass protest
- Protestors and police clash in Strasbourg
- French students disrupt online learning in closed schools with 'cyber blockade'
Donald Trump says French protests are "out of control mass migration"
17:05 , Jessie WilliamsUS president Donald Trump claims that the school protests taking place in France are “nothing less than out of control mass migration”.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump also wrote that “This isn’t about schools, this is about Islam wanting to take over a once great Country!”
Student protester: "We will fight till we win"
16:49 , Jessie WilliamsAround 5,000 people were estimated to be attending a large demonstration in the central city of Tours.
One 19-year-old student protester there told The Independent that there was “so much energy and so much desire to fight for our right.”
He said that there were a lot of police present but reported no clashes or violence so far.
“We are going to continue the protest until [the government] give us what we want,” he said.
He said that they want more funding for schools and universities, as well as better conditions in schools.
“We will fight till we win, till our voices are heard and changes happen,” he added.
Versailles: A 1-year-old baby is hospitalised after being hit by a mortar
16:04 , Jessie WilliamsA one-year-old baby was injured by a firework mortar near a blockaded high school in Saint-Cyr-l'École, close to Versailles, on Tuesday morning, reported Le Parisien.
The infant was taken to the hospital by emergency services after suffering from tinnitus from the explosion.
A high school student was arrested at the scene and taken into custody.
Mélenchon makes appearance at Paris protest
15:56 , Jessie WilliamsChants of "Mélenchon Président!" erupt in Place de la République as Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the head of La France Insoumise (LFI) party appears.
The hard-left leader has voiced his support for the students’ demands over the last week, but has been accused by the government and far-right politicians of igniting the protests for electoral gains.
He is a candidate in next year’s presidential elections.
In pictures: Students and riot police clash in Paris
15:42 , Jessie Williams
French prime minister announces classes to be suspended until Friday
15:23 , Jessie WilliamsFrance's prime minister has said classes will be suspended from tomorrow morning through to Friday.
Sébastien Lecornu was addressing the unrest across the country in parliament this afternoon.
This is to “allow each management team, each headteacher, to have time for internal democracy within high schools,” Lecornu told delegates at the National Assembly.
He also denounced the “extreme violence” that he said has been knocking "on the door of high schools", which he "condemned unconditionally".
A total of 215 students and 85 education staff have been injured so far since the protests started, according to Lecornu.
Watch: Tear gas deployed as French school protesters clash with police
15:02 , Jessie WilliamsIn pictures: Parents and MPs join students in protesting school conditions
14:58 , Jessie WilliamsParents have joined students in voicing their anger over overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and dilapidated school buildings across France.
In Paris, a woman wearing a white helmet holds a placard reading "supportive parents" during a demonstration, which was also joined by MPs, including Ecologiste et Social's MP Alexis Corbiere, and French director, screenwriter and actress Laetitia Dosch.
Crowds of students chanting and clapping in central Paris
14:42 , Jessie WilliamsHuge crowds are seen chanting, clapping, and holding placards in Place de la République, central Paris.
Up to 40,000 people are expected to march through the streets of Paris today.
An estimated 260,000 people – including students, teachers, and parents – have taken to streets across France today to protest what they say are worsening school conditions; teacher shortages, dilapidated buildings, and overcrowded classrooms.
Some of the protests around the country have turned violent with bins set on fire and tear gas fired by riot police, while others have remained peaceful.
JEUNESSE EN COLÈRE : Manifestation massive en cours, notamment des lycéens et étudiants, place de la République à Paris. #BlocusLycéespic.twitter.com/uNTZB8ISpQ
— Infos Françaises (@InfosFrancaises) October 6, 2026
2,000 schools shut across France, say student union
14:24 , Jessie Williams2,000 schools have been shut across the country, according to the union for secondary school students, Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL), one of the major organisers of the protests.
This contrasts with figures reported by the French education ministry earlier today which said that 891 schools have had classes suspended, either totally or partially.
Why Gen Z is setting fire to France’s classrooms
14:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainStudent and teacher grievances are real: school days run past 6pm, classes overflow with 35 or more pupils, absent teachers go unreplaced, buildings are decrepit and staff are badly paid. The issue is who is exploiting it, says Emma-Kate Symons:
Why Gen Z is setting fire to France’s classrooms
In pictures: Tens of thousands take to streets of French cities to protest
13:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Watch: French high school protests over school conditions spread nationwide
13:08 , Maryam Zakir-HussainPolice tackle young people to the ground during Strasbourg clashes
12:49 , Maryam Zakir-HussainPolice in riot gear are seen pushing back and tackling crowds of young people to the ground in Strasbourg, after protestors charged towards police with dustbins and smoke flares.
🔴 DIRECT | Tensions vives entre manifestants et policiers sur le pont Gallia à Strasbourg. pic.twitter.com/PqgEjI48K0
— La Presse Libre (@LaPresseLibre_) October 6, 2026
In pictures: Police use water cannons against crowds of protestors
12:39 , Maryam Zakir-HussainRiot police use water cannons against protestors in Rennes, western France.
Riot police use tear gas and streets set on fire
11:59 , Maryam Zakir-HussainProtestors and police are in the middle of an “extremely tense standoff” in the streets of Lyon, a French journalist has reported.
Julien Damboise posted a video on social media which shows fires ablaze on the streets, as protestors throw multiple projectiles and mortars towards the police.
Riot police are responding by using tear gas on the crowds, he reported.
He wrote: “An extremely tense standoff is unfolding in the streets near where the procession is set to arrive.
“Barricades are ablaze, and local construction sites are providing rioters with an endless supply of projectiles. Police are responding with tear gas.”
🔴 #Manifestation #Lycéens #Lyon : face à face ultra tendu dans les rues proches de l’arrivée du cortège. Des barricades sont enflammées, les chantiers du secteur offrent des projectiles sans fin aux émeutiers. La police répond avec du gaz lacrymogènes @actufr_lyon pic.twitter.com/b39Qmuq2rC
— Julien Damboise (@DamboiseJulien) October 6, 2026
French students disrupt online learning with 'cyber blockade'
11:19 , Maryam Zakir-HussainDistance learning programs set up in closed high schools due to protests are now experiencing disruptions due to “cyber blockades”.
Young activists have been sharing tips on social media explaining how to disrupt virtual lessons, protest monitor Contre Attack reported.
One video which has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, shows a high school student explaining the concept of an “e-blockade” and why it will be effective.
In pictures: Protestors face full force of riot police in Paris
10:48 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Protesting pupils blockade French high schools again
10:19 , Maryam Zakir-HussainProtesting pupils blockaded their high schools again Tuesday, a day of planned demonstrations that will test the resilience and energy of a weeks-old nationwide movement demanding more resources for the school system.
At the Hélène Boucher lycée, or high school, in Paris' 20th district, protesters laid trash cans and bicycles on their sides to create a makeshift barricade in front of the school.
Like hundreds of others around the country, the school was closed.
Authorities began shutting schools last week to take some steam out of the demonstrations after widespread damage to schools and mounting injuries among staff, students and police.
French media also reported protests in other cities and towns on Tuesday morning, as labor unions called for workers to demonstrate later Tuesday in support of the high school movement that is rattling the government of President Emmanuel Macron.
Protestors and police clash in Strasbourg
09:52 , Maryam Zakir-HussainProtestors and French police have clashed in Strasbourg this morning.
Photos show riot police pushing back protestors.
Watch: 'I could feel the petrol dripping': The violent attacks that have marred France school protests
09:18 , Maryam Zakir-HussainHow many people have been arrested?
09:18 , Maryam Zakir-HussainFrance's Justice Ministry said 5,060 people have been arrested since the protests began, with 87 per cent of them minors.
More than 1,800 people are being prosecuted, including 1,483 minors, the ministry said, without specifying the crimes. It said 790 cases had been dismissed.
At least 715 police officers and 215 teenagers have been injured in clashes, according to Lecornu's office.
Six months before an election to replace Macron, his government and the far-right National Rally, led by presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen, have accused hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) lawmakers and mayors of stoking the protests. The LFI denies the accusation.
In pictures: Students start to gather for today's protest
09:15 , Maryam Zakir-HussainStudents have started to gather for today’s protest, which is expected to the biggest demonstration yet.
Up to 50,000 protestors are expected, French media has reported.
Banners which say “Listen to them” and “Young people in anger” were seen held by the students.
50,000 set to demonstrate across Paris today as violent displays escalate
09:10 , Maryam Zakir-HussainStudent protests have gripped France as thousands have rallied in increasingly violent demonstrations, which are expected to hit a peak today.
Young people have united together against staff shortages and dilapidated school buildings in widespread protests over the last week.
Teenage students stood on barricades made of trash cans in front of `schools from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south, and from Strasbourg in the east to Nantes in the west.
In Paris they held up banners reading "We want to be heard, not teargassed" and "Our future is not optional".
