French PM Cautions Against Escalation as 164 Arrests Mount in Student Protests

Mon Sep 28 2026 23:42:37 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu warns against violence amid growing school protests, after 164 arrests across France.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has blasted the escalating violence in France’s school protests, labeling any further escalation as "irresponsible". The demonstrations began in Paris and have spread nationwide, with students blocking schools for days over overcrowding and teacher shortages. Authorities arrested 164 people, injured dozens of students, staff and police, and a police officer fired a round from a crowd‑control grenade launcher at a student. Lecornu condemned fireworks, fires and the alleged involvement of the far‑left LFI party, while a student union defended the protests as a legitimate response to decades of budget cuts.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has warned against any escalation in the country’s current wave of student protests, calling the increase, after 164 arrests, "irresponsible".

The demonstrations began in Paris, with teenagers blockading their schools for days over overcrowded classes and a chronic shortage of teachers. The movement has since spread to other regions, hitting schools in Marseille, Lille, and the Ardennes.

Lecornu posted on X: "Fireworks, fires, violence near high schools: nothing justifies endangering students, staff, or police officers." He added that the government would listen to the students’ concerns, but that acts of violence must be condemned outright.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 12 police officers, 12 students and three school staff members were injured on Monday, with 180 schools affected. While he did not specify the number of arrests, a total of 164 people were detained during the week of protests.

Student union representatives, meanwhile, defended the blockades as a legitimate response to decades of budget cuts and systemic under‑funding of the national education system. One union post highlighted teachers’ shortages, crumbling buildings and the stressful Parcoursup application process as catalysts for the unrest.

In a related move, unions for teachers, hospital staff and civil servants called for a day of walkouts to protest low wages and poor working conditions.

During the protests, several violent incidents were reported. A police officer reportedly fired a projectile from a crowd‑control grenade launcher at a high‑school student, an act confirmed by BFMTV. Investigations into the incident are underway.

Lecornu accused the far‑left France Unbowed (LFI) party of encouraging students to expand the movement. Front‑line activist Jean‑Luc Mélenchon, LFI leader, countered that the government had ordered the crackdown and that the students were "harmless".

Nuñez characterized the demonstrations as "not typical protest movements" but rather urban violence, noting that masked individuals with fireworks headed toward security forces. "It wasn’t about making demands; it was purely violent," he said.