French Prime Minister Urges Calm as Student Blockades Intensify

Tue Sep 29 2026 10:13:15 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

PM Lecornu warns state that escalating school protests with violence would be irresponsible after 164 arrests amid over a hundred schools blockaded.

In the wake of widespread high‑school blockades across France, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has called for restraint, condemning violence that has accompanied the student demonstrations. The protests, sparked by teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and stress from the Parcoursup admissions platform, have led to 164 arrests and injuries to students, staff and police. While student unions label the actions as a legitimate response to a decade of under‑funded education, authorities insist the demonstrations have devolved into “urban violence.” Lecornu urges the government to address systemic issues but also vows to hold perpetrators accountable, launching investigations into incidents such as a police officer allegedly firing a grenade‑launcher round at a student. The unrest, spread from Île‑de‑France to Marseille and Lille, highlights mounting discontent among French youth compared to broader calls for better working conditions across various professions.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has warned that any escalation of the French student protests would be “irresponsible,” following the arrest of 164 students and staff on Monday. The demonstrations, which began in Paris and have seen teenagers blockading schools for days, stem from long‑standing grievances over overcrowded classes, teacher shortages and the stress of the Parcoursup admissions platform.

In a post on X, Lecornu called the reported use of fireworks, fires and violence near high schools “nothing justifies endangering students, staff or police officers.” While the Union Syndicale Lycéenne has defended the protests as a legitimate response to the conditions faced by high‑school students, the government maintains that the demonstrations have turned into “urban violence.”

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that on Monday, 12 security officers, 12 students and three school staff were injured, and 180 schools were affected. The violence has spread beyond Île‑de‑France to Marseille, Lille, Sedan and the southern regions of Alpes‑Maritimes and Var, where blockades and vandalism have been reported.

Lecornu stressed that the government would “listen to the difficulties of high schools and address them,” but that “violence must be condemned unequivocally, and its perpetrators must answer for their actions.” He also accused the far‑left France Unbowed (LFI) party of encouraging the students to expand the movement.

In contrast, Jean‑Luc Mélenchon, LFI’s leader, blamed the government for ordering the crackdown and insisted the students were “harmless.” Nuñez described the protestors as “not a typical protest movement” but rather people “equipped with fireworks and projectiles who clearly wanted to confront the internal security forces.”

Investigations have been launched into incidents of violence between students and police. In one case, a police officer reportedly fired a grenade‑launcher round that injured a high‑school student, prompting scrutiny from the French broadcaster BFMTV.

The student protests, now spread across France, have drawn a large number of schools into the spotlight as the political debate continues over the state of education and the broader social unrest simmering among the nation’s youth.