France Tries Teachers, Talks and 70,000 Police to End Protest Crisis as Arrests Top 1,300 and Anger Spreads

PARIS — France's government is pursuing a two-track strategy to end weeks of nationwide protests. It is deploying tens of thousands of police to contain violence while promising more teachers, an overhaul of university admissions and budget changes to address the grievances behind the unrest.

So far, neither approach has stopped the demonstrations.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched again Saturday across France. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Sunday that police made 1,314 arrests and that 53 officers were injured. He said the marches "passed off well," but that police later faced "an extremely elevated level of violence" from "ultra-left" groups.

The Interior Ministry estimated turnout at about 410,000 people at roughly 298 protests, including 110,000 in Paris. The CGT union confederation put the national figure near 800,000.

From school blockades to national crisis

The movement began in mid-September, when high school students in the working-class suburbs north of Paris blockaded their schools. They were protesting teacher shortages, overcrowded classes, crumbling buildings and stress over Parcoursup, the country's university admissions system.

The protests spread to cities including Bordeaux, Rennes, Nantes, Lyon, Lille and Marseille. They soon merged with a public-sector strike over the government's 2027 budget, which includes about 54 billion euros ($60.8 billion) in spending cuts and tax measures aimed at reducing France's deficit. Unions say the budget would freeze civil servants' base pay for a fourth straight year.

The movement has since widened into broader anger over the cost of living and inequality, drawing in remnants of the 2018 "yellow vest" movement.

"One student out of two cannot eat properly," said Alice Cohen-Morzadec, a spokesperson for the French Student Union. "We cannot study in these conditions."

The unrest peaked on Oct. 17, when about 550,000 people demonstrated nationwide, according to the Interior Ministry. Some protests turned into looting and arson, damaging about 3,000 businesses. A fire largely destroyed the historic town hall in Limoges.

Security response

The government's most visible response has been a large police presence.

For Saturday's marches, authorities deployed more than 70,000 police officers and gendarmes, about 20% more than the previous weekend, Nuñez said. Helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons were also used.

Officials said police acted faster this time, carried out more checks before demonstrations began and did more to protect businesses. In Paris, officers stopped and checked more than 3,000 people.

Authorities also restricted where people could protest. Demonstrations were banned in Montpellier, Rouen, Nice and central Lyon. In Paris, the approved march route was moved from Bastille to Porte d'Italie on the city's edge, and at least 24 metro stations were closed. The Louvre and Musée d'Orsay shut for the day.

Union representative Murielle Guilbert called the restrictions "scandalous," saying protesters were not allowed to demonstrate "where we wish to demonstrate."

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has also authorized regional prefects to impose "very limited" and "localized" curfews where needed, working with local mayors.

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has told prosecutors to seek civil liability from parents for damage caused by their children. Most of the thousands detained since the protests began have been minors.

President Emmanuel Macron has said those responsible for violence would be "prosecuted and punished."

The government has also targeted the online sale of looted goods. Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff met social media executives and urged platforms to remove listings of stolen items.

Policing under scrutiny

The heavy-handed approach has drawn criticism. Amnesty International called police use of force "disproportionate." Human Rights Watch reported serious injuries to children, including a 15-year-old who lost a hand to a police stun grenade and a 14-year-old whose jaw was shattered by a tear gas canister.

After the 15-year-old's injury, Nuñez suspended the use of stun grenades at school protests in early October.

The United Nations human rights office has called for de-escalation.

Promises on schools

Alongside its security measures, the government has made several pledges on education.

Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced in early October that 3,000 substitute teachers would be sent to the hardest-hit schools. Regional education authorities were allowed to hire several hundred additional teachers beyond their quotas.

Lecornu has said the government will amend its 2027 budget bill to reflect some of the students' proposals, drawing on an online consultation that received more than 66,000 responses. He has said final decisions will come at the end of October or in early November.

On Friday, Macron met student representatives and promised more teachers and a deep overhaul of Parcoursup, Al Jazeera reported. The meeting did not calm tensions. Students said they would keep protesting until concrete measures are presented.

The government has not yet announced commitments on class sizes, one of the protesters' central demands.

Sophie Vénétitay, general secretary of the SNES-FSU teachers' union, has accused Lecornu of offering little substance and stalling for time.

Talks with unions and parties

Lecornu met union leaders on Oct. 21 and held talks with political parties later that week. He is seeking their help in isolating violent groups while keeping peaceful protests going. No agreement has been announced.

In a speech to parliament, Lecornu accused far-left factions of carrying out an "insurrectionary plan" to destabilize state institutions. The government and intelligence services have suggested that the far-left France Unbowed party helped organize the movement.

France Unbowed and student unions reject that claim, saying the protests are spontaneous. Party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has accused the government of repressing students and allowing the confrontation to escalate.

Political stakes

The crisis comes at a difficult time for Macron, who cannot seek a third term in the April 2027 presidential election. No bloc has held a parliamentary majority since 2024, which makes passing the budget harder.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who leads early presidential polls, has called the protesters' demands "legitimate social demands" but said they had been "held hostage by the far left."

"I see only one beneficiary and that's Le Pen," said Paul Smith, a political scientist at the University of Nottingham.

Organizers have called another day of protests for Saturday, and yellow vest groups plan rallies on Oct. 31 against what they call the government's "authoritarian drift."

The government's promised education decisions, expected by early November, may be its best chance to calm the movement. For now, students and unions say they will stay in the streets until they see concrete results.