Hundreds of teenagers barricaded the Lycée Sophie-Germain in central Paris before dawn on Tuesday, dragging wheelie bins, metal barriers and shopping trolleys to block the school entrance. The action is part of an unprecedented protest movement that began in a low-income Paris suburb and has spread nationwide, taking the government by surprise.
Pupils climbed atop the piles of bins holding banners calling for more funding and greater equality in French schools. They also protested against French riot police, who have been accused by human rights groups of using disproportionate force against children. At least 215 teenagers, 715 police officers and 85 teaching staff have been injured in clashes in recent days, according to the government.
Students decry 'state violence' and police brutality
“Everyone hates the police,” chanted a group of 15- and 16-year-olds. Livia, 17, a theatre student at a lycée in northern Paris who did not want her real name published, said: “We’re teenagers with wheelie bins, and the police have heavy weapons, it’s totally mismatched. The police are extremely violent in France. This is state violence and it’s horrible seeing police allowed to target children. It’s important to remember this is institutionalised violence, it’s planned and deliberate.”
A total of 10 investigations into possible police brutality are under way after injuries allegedly involving police weaponry, including a 15-year-old who lost his hand, another who lost an eye, and a boy whose jaw and teeth were shattered, leaving him barely able to eat by straw in hospital, as his mother said.
Lily, 17 (not her real name), a final-year social sciences student demonstrating for more funding, said: “The policing is catastrophic, people have been mutilated by weapons – one boy has lost an eye – it’s horrible.” She described a discriminatory education system that left poorer children behind. “My parents support me being on the barricades and at the protests. They’re worried about the policing, but they said they’d come and get me from the police station if I was arrested.”
Protests spread nationwide with arrests and school closures
Nearby teenagers held cardboard signs protesting at the use of teargas and riot police. “A state that gases high school students is a weak state,” read one banner. “Gas rapists, not children” said another, in reference to calls for better laws against sexual violence. Another banner read: “Not here to riot”.
Hundreds of high schools have been barricaded and forced to close as students protest against teacher shortages, crumbling buildings and overcrowded classes. The justice ministry said 5,060 people have been arrested since the protests began, with 87% of them minors. More than 1,800 people have been prosecuted, including 1,483 minors, the ministry said, without specifying the crimes. It said 790 cases had been dismissed. The government said 24 schools had been burned or ransacked.
One teacher at Sophie-Germain high school, who planned to join the Paris demonstration on Tuesday afternoon, said: “In more than 20 years of teaching, I’ve never seen protests this big. The students in central Paris have shown a great sense of solidarity with those in the Paris suburbs who face much worse conditions in their schools. There’s a feeling of solidarity and generosity between teenagers that flies in the face of the notion that we live in an era of selfishness. No one knows how long this will go on for.”
Students demand change and oppose far right
Tens of thousands of students, trade unionists and parents are expected to march in support of schoolchildren across France on Tuesday afternoon, including in Paris, Toulouse, Nice and Bordeaux, with riot police on alert. Isabella, 16, said she had the backing of her parents, who work in film and music. “Young people have been teargassed for doing nothing but trying to express their opinion. Everybody told us that school was the great leveller, but today that is not the case at all. A teenager in the banlieue [suburbia] of Paris is never going to have the same opportunities as a student from the city centre. That’s why we’re here today.”
Lionel, 17, in his final year and hoping to study English, said: “The aim isn’t to riot or smash things up, we just want to protest peacefully.” Teenagers also chanted songs against Marine Le Pen, the far-right, anti-immigration candidate in the 2027 presidential election, who is high in the polls as Emmanuel Macron steps down after a decade in office. Many teenagers were worried about the election. “We’re also protesting against the growth of the far right,” said Aislinn.
Justine, 17, who had been at the barricade since before dawn, said she hoped the protest would continue and grow into a “massive” movement. “For years, there has been a mental health crisis among young people in France and anger at rundown schools and the stresses of the education system. We need the government to listen to us and make radical change.”
