French school blockades restart on Monday as Paris prosecutors open attempted homicide inquiry over Molotov attack on gendarmes
Students say blockades resume Monday after 320,000 marched and 565 were arrested. Paris prosecutors are investigating a Molotov attack on gendarmes.
At a glance
- High school student leaders say blockades restart on Monday, November 2, as pupils return from a two-week holiday, with bigger action on Tuesday and Thursday.
- The interior ministry counted about 320,000 marchers nationwide on Saturday, including about 70,000 in Paris; organisers' Paris figure was far higher.
- Paris prosecutors opened an attempted homicide inquiry after a Molotov cocktail set a gendarme's leg protection alight near Porte de Charenton. He was lightly hurt.
- Macron says young people have been heard. Student leaders call his school measures "smoke and mirrors".
French high school students will begin blocking their schools again on Monday, November 2, student leaders said on Sunday, a day after about 320,000 people marched nationwide and Paris prosecutors opened an attempted homicide inquiry into a Molotov cocktail attack on gendarmes.
The return from the two-week autumn holiday was always going to test whether President Emmanuel Macron's offer to students had cooled the movement. Pierre Sourzat, who heads the group Lycéens!, said it had not. Some schools will be blocked from Monday, he told a radio station, with larger action from Tuesday. His verdict on the government's package: "smoke and mirrors".
The Porte de Charenton attack
Near the end of Saturday's Paris march, a petrol bomb exploded at the feet of a mobile gendarme in clashes around Porte de Charenton, setting his leg protection on fire. His equipment saved him from worse, and he was lightly hurt. Images of the moment spread quickly.
Paris police said five members of the security forces were injured in the capital, three of them by Molotov cocktails. Prosecutors are treating the attack as attempted homicide against people holding public authority. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez went further in his language and called it attempted murder. Presidential candidates Marine Le Pen and Bruno Retailleau both condemned it.
Saturday in numbers
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Marchers nationwide (interior ministry) | About 320,000 |
| Marchers in Paris (police) | About 70,000 |
| Marchers in Paris (other counts) | Up to 200,000 |
| Arrests nationwide | 565 |
| Security forces hurt in Paris | 5, three by Molotov cocktails |
| Consecutive weekends of major marches | 3 |
Most of the day passed off peacefully, with many marchers in Halloween costumes. Trouble came in pockets. Police fired tear gas in Lyon after projectiles were thrown, clashed with demonstrators in Marseille and used water cannon on an unauthorised, mostly young march of several thousand in Toulouse. Shopkeepers in eastern Paris boarded up their windows in advance, after two earlier Saturdays of looting and arson.
Far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon joined the Paris march. He accuses Macron's government of an increasingly authoritarian turn.
What students were offered, and why they said no
On October 26 the government announced it would replace Parcoursup, the much-criticised university admissions platform, offer loans for school renovations and bring in a plan to cut class sizes. Macron has asked for classes to resume calmly, saying young people have been heard.
Student groups see gaps. Sourzat said the admissions change does nothing about the shortage of university places, and that smaller classes apply only to 10th grade when students wanted them in every year. Sabrine Kharbach of the Union Etudiante said blockades of high schools and universities are planned for Tuesday and Thursday.
A wider youth movement in Europe
France is no longer alone. Youth-led protests also ended in street violence over the weekend in Germany, Switzerland, Portugal and Albania, according to reports. Germany's Gen Z marches spread to 34 cities, with shops looted in Frankfurt.
By the government's earlier count, more than 900 officers and nearly 150 school staff have been injured since the French protests began, while several inquiries are examining accusations of police violence against students. The Alliance police union, meanwhile, says it is filing a legal complaint against the state, accusing it of endangering officers' lives.
Why it matters beyond France
France's presidential election is less than six months away, with Le Pen leading the polls, and the eurozone's second-largest economy is close to recession. Weeks of disruption and damaged shopping streets add to the pressure on Macron's final months in office.
For families and travellers, the practical dates are Tuesday, November 3, and Thursday, November 5, when disruption around schools and universities is expected to be heaviest. Parisians and visitors should also expect heavier policing and possible street closures if more marches are called for next Saturday, November 7.
Questions people are asking
Why are French students protesting?
The movement began over run-down, under-resourced schools and has grown to include the cost of living, university places and police violence. Trade unions and activists have joined the students.
Are French schools closed on Monday?
Schools reopen after the holiday, but student groups say some will be blocked from Monday, with wider blockades of high schools and universities on Tuesday and Thursday.
