PARIS — France’s interior ministry said 1,949 people were arrested Thursday and 305 police and gendarmes injured as high-school protests over teacher shortages, overcrowding and rundown buildings escalated into fires, petrol attacks and citywide blockades, the BBC and France 24 reported with AFP.
Blazes were reported at lycées in Nantes and Rouen after bins were set alight; in Marseille, staff at Victor Hugo high school were splashed with petrol. The ministry said 1,027 lycées have been affected and 222 blockaded; at least 30 university campuses joined Thursday. Public transport halted in Marseille and Strasbourg. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened a crisis meeting, cancelled ministers’ travel, and said the unrest had become “urban violence.” Education Minister Édouard Geffray planned talks with pupil representatives Friday, with hundreds of schools expected to shift to distance learning.
Students cite missing teachers, leaking buildings and overcrowded cafeterias. The government and National Rally’s Marine Le Pen blamed hard-left organizers; La France Insoumise denied orchestrating riots while defending students’ grievances. The unrest is already shaping the run-up to France’s 2027 presidential contest.
Sources: BBC News, France 24 with AFP
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