Roughly Half a Million March Across France as Student Anger Over Schools Merges With Fuel Price Fury

In Paris dozens were detained after clashes with security forces. Euronews said its own crew was surrounded and robbed while covering the march. In Saint-Étienne a protester lost a hand in a grenade incident, according to the ABC 33/40 report, and a student suffered a similar injury at Lens earlier this month. Arrest totals differ by outlet; CNN's headline spoke of more than 1,000 detained, so treat the count as unsettled.

How did the government respond?

President Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence and said those responsible would be prosecuted. Euronews quoted him saying protest must come with respect for people and property. The government acknowledged the students' complaints but accused political groups of exploiting them, and it has accused the hard-left France Unbowed party of encouraging violence. The party denies it.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu warned of a wave of urban violence and said 937 police officers and gendarmes, 248 students and 149 teaching staff have been injured since the protests began. Nuñez said there are 36 investigations into alleged police violence at student protests, and a police union said it would file a complaint against the state over contradictory orders to officers.

What happens next?

The unrest lands about six months before the presidential election in spring 2027, so both sides are already positioning. Opposition figures criticised the police response while the government is pressing the line that students were exploited. With schools still the grievance and fuel prices still rising, a calm Sunday would be the exception to what has become a month-long pattern.