Tear gas and fires on French streets as student protests turn violent

Violent student protests have broken out again across France, where around 400 schools have stayed closed to try to quell the unrest.

The demonstrations over claims of decrepit school buildings and teacher shortages began last month and have spread around the country.

Bins were set alight and fireworks thrown on Friday as riot police faced off with protesters in Aubervilliers, near Paris, as well as in Toulouse, Rennes and Marseille.

Education minister Edouard Geffray told French media that "a little over 400 schools and other educational establishments" would be closed on Friday.

Around 2,000 people have been arrested since the protests began, said justice minister Gerald Darmanin.

"There is an active ‌and violent minority (participating in the protests)... We're not entirely sure that they are even high school students ​themselves," Mr Darmanin told RTL radio.

Intelligence agencies told ministers that politicians from the hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI) were behind the unrest.

However, senior party members said they had always urged non-violent action and accused President Emmanuel Macron's government of politicising the protests.

Two teachers at Marseille's Victor Hugo high school were accidentally splashed with petrol on Thursday, while hundreds of young people at the nearby Saint-Exupery school forced firefighters to leave their truck before setting it alight.

The city's public transport system was also suspended after staff were injured in the clashes.

Similar scenes of fire and confrontation played out in other cities.

The Nelson Mandela school in the western city of Nantes was evacuated on Thursday after it was set alight, mayor's deputy Olivier Chateau told broadcaster franceinfo.

Burning bins were also thrown down the street near Baggio high school in Lille, where earlier in the week protesters were pictured tearing down a traffic light.

'Heavy-handed' police tactics criticised

Students say years of underinvestment have led to packed classrooms, regular teacher shortages, overloaded timetables and ‌neglected buildings. Teachers have also been protesting in some locations.

"We are 35 per class, we don't have enough chairs in classrooms, the one-hour lunch break (is too short) for everyone to get food," said 15-year-old Kesia in the Paris suburb of Pantin.

As well as tear gas, police have also used batons and non-lethal rubber ball guns.

Rights group Amnesty International condemned the use of such tactics on young people: "Students must be protected, not beaten with batons," ⁠it said on X.

France-based journalist Jamie Smith-Maillet told Sky News the government appeared to have "lost a grip".

He said the protests had mainly originated in schools in more deprived areas due to students feeling they're being left behind, but were now taking place in a more diverse mix of schools.

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Mr Smith-Maillet said planned public service budget cuts of €50bn (£42bn) had added to the disquiet.

"That is just not sitting comfortably with those on the streets, with teachers' unions, and here with students," said Mr Smith-Maillet.

"So it's boiling over into wider difficulties in France."

The protests come as the country gears up for presidential elections in April 2027.

Emmanuel Macron has served his maximum two terms and cannot stand again, but far-right figurehead Marine LePen has said she will run for president for a fourth time.

(c) Sky News 2026: Tear gas and fires on French streets as student protests turn violent