France’s government is using a two-track response to weeks of nationwide protests: a large police deployment against violence, and promises of more teachers, changes to university admissions and budget adjustments. Neither track has ended the demonstrations.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched again on Saturday. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on 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.
The movement began in mid-September, when high school students in working-class suburbs north of Paris blockaded schools over teacher shortages, overcrowded classes, crumbling buildings and stress over Parcoursup, the university admissions system. Protests spread to Bordeaux, Rennes, Nantes, Lyon, Lille and Marseille, then merged with a public-sector strike over the 2027 budget. That budget includes about 54 billion euros ($60.8 billion) in spending cuts and tax measures aimed at reducing the deficit. Unions say it would freeze civil servants’ base pay for a fourth straight year. The unrest has widened to the cost of living and inequality and has drawn in remnants of the 2018 yellow vest movement.
Alice Cohen-Morzadec, a spokesperson for the French Student Union, said one student out of two cannot eat properly and that students cannot study in these conditions.
The Interior Ministry said the unrest peaked on Oct. 17, when about 550,000 people demonstrated nationwide. Some protests turned into looting and arson, damaging about 3,000 businesses. A fire largely destroyed the historic town hall in Limoges.
For Saturday, 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 used. Officials said police acted faster, carried out more checks before demonstrations and did more to protect businesses. In Paris, officers stopped and checked more than 3,000 people.
Demonstrations were banned in Montpellier, Rouen, Nice and central Lyon. In Paris, the approved route was moved from Bastille to Porte d’Italie, 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 and said protesters were not allowed to demonstrate where they wished.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has 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. Digital Minister Anne Le Hénanff met social media executives and urged platforms to remove listings of stolen goods.
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.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced in early October that 3,000 substitute teachers would be sent to the hardest-hit schools, and regional authorities were allowed to hire several hundred additional teachers beyond their quotas. Lecornu has said the government will amend the 2027 budget bill to reflect some student proposals, drawing on an online consultation that received more than 66,000 responses, with final decisions 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. Students said they would keep protesting until concrete measures are presented. The government has not announced commitments on class sizes. Sophie Vénétitay, general secretary of the SNES-FSU teachers’ union, has accused Lecornu of offering little substance and stalling for time.
Lecornu met union leaders on Oct. 21 and later held talks with political parties, seeking help to isolate violent groups while peaceful protests continue. No agreement has been announced. In a speech to parliament, he accused far-left factions of an insurrectionary plan to destabilize state institutions. The government and intelligence services have suggested that France Unbowed helped organize the movement. The party and student unions reject that claim and say the protests are spontaneous. Party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has accused the government of repressing students and allowing the confrontation to escalate.
Macron cannot seek a third term in the April 2027 presidential election, and no bloc has held a parliamentary majority since 2024. 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. Paul Smith, a political scientist at the University of Nottingham, said he sees only one beneficiary, and that is Le Pen.
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. Students and unions say they will stay in the streets until they see concrete results.