French students plan further protests as UN expresses concern

After days of street blockades and tense stand-offs with riot police, most students in France returned to their classrooms today as the United Nations said it was monitoring the unrest “with concern” amid reports of violence.

Tens of thousands of people have marched across the country since late September, when students began blocking entrances to high schools — a tactic that prompted the deployment of squads of riot police.

The protesters, most of them aged 15 to 18, say schools are buckling under the strain of absent teachers, overloaded timetables and crumbling facilities, including classrooms and buildings ill-equipped for rising temperatures.

Since the demonstrations began, more than 6,800 people have been detained, the justice ministry said today, adding that 86% of those held are minors.

A government source told journalists that the bill for damage linked to the protests was “at least €30 million”.

Police use a water cannon against protesters at a demonstration in Bastille

The United Nations urged restraint, calling on all sides to keep protests peaceful.

“We are following with concern incidents related to the student protests and high school blockades in France, some of which have turned violent,” said Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson for the UN human rights agency.

Although most demonstrations have been peaceful, there have been incidents in which protesters set fires and vandalised bus shelters.

Police, in turn, have deployed tear gas, batons and blast balls — tactics that have fuelled accusations from rights groups and students of disproportionate force.

Police have opened 18 internal investigations into allegations of misconduct.

After a 15-year-old lost a hand on Monday when police fired a stun grenade, the government has suspended use of the weapon.

‘Marked slowdown’

The government source said today officials were observing a “marked slowdown” in the movement, and told journalists that most injured high school students “were not hurt by police action (but were) students who injured themselves accidentally” during the protests.

Students, however, signalled that the lull may be temporary. Organisers have urged supporters to prepare for large-scale demonstrations next week.

Students gathered at the foot of the July Column on Place de la Bastille during a protest in Paris

“We’re saving our energy for next week,” a 16-year-old student in the southwestern city of Toulouse said.

In the southern port city of Marseille, a high school student named Alice said the education minister’s announcements “are a first step but they’re not enough”.

Student union representative Marius Mesnil struck a similar note, saying, “we’re being offered a few crumbs”, as he called for another wave of demonstrations Tuesday.

In Paris last night, police said they used tear gas in Bastille square to disperse some “high-risk profiles”.

Seeking to ease tensions, Education Minister Edouard Geffray announced late Thursday that around 3,000 substitute teachers would be sent in the coming days to replace absent staff at the 114 worst-affected high schools.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has promised a plan to address the crisis by the end of October. Economy Minister Roland Lescure said there was room to meet demands for more school resources within the highly constrained 2027 budget.

Under the current draft budget, education is set for the second-largest funding increase — behind defence — rising 1.4% to €90.9 billion.

Of France’s 3,700 high schools, known as lycées, the education ministry said only 141 were closed today.

Last week, about 800 schools had shut because of the protests.

Éléonore Caroit warned against pivoting to far-right politics in the wake of the unrest

Earlier, a French junior minister said the violence had unfolded against a broader “climate of discontent” driven by high energy costs and wider cost-of-living pressures.

France’s Minister Delegate for Francophonie, International Partnerships and French Nationals Abroad Éléonore Caroit said she had seen “disturbing” and “heartbreaking” images from the rioting.

Ms Caroit is in Dublin for a meeting of EU development ministers.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, she said: “The government is investigating all the actions and the claims.

“At this stage, there is a really clear instruction to use only proportionate measures when it comes to preserving order in France.”

She said the French government’s aim was to restore calm while responding to students’ demands “when they are legitimate”.

“There is a mass of demands but now we have a series of really clear requests and concerns,” she said, adding that the “situation is calming”.