‘We want to be heard, not teargassed’: Students joined by parents and unions in mass French protests

Students, parents and trade unions are demonstrating across France, in protest at what they say is under-investment in high schools

One union says 1,800 high schools are blockaded or closed by the government today, with 90% of universities also blockaded

In Paris, protesters are holding banners saying: "We want to be heard, not teargassed" and: "Our future is not optional"

In Lille, bins have been set on fire, reports Nick Beake – while a student in Paris tells Hugh Schofield: "I am very scared for the future"

In the past week, students have blockaded hundreds of schools with at least 215 injured and more than 5,000 people arrested

On Monday, a student had his hand blown off in the city of Lens after reportedly picking up a police sting-ball grenade

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Edited by Rebecca Seales and Kieran Kelly, with Nick Beake reporting from Lille

Demonstrations are taking place in more than 30 locations across France today, according to L'Union Étudiante, which helped organised today's protests.

People will take to the streets in cities including Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Lyon and Paris, where up to 40,000 people are expected to march on Tuesday.

As we've been reporting, pupils have already been gathering in the city of Lille in northern France ahead of a demonstration planned there at 12:00 local time (11:00 BST).

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing It's mid-morning in France and the streets are already packed across the country, as demonstrations for increased investment in schools continue.

In some places, relatives of student protesters are taking to the streets alongside them as part of a "Parents Present" movement.

Police have scuffled with students this morning in Strasbourg

Some parents are supporting their children in the protests

The Lycee Ampere in Lyon is blockaded this morning

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingHugh SchofieldReporting from Paris

Sacré, 17, says her high school has good teachers and equipment – but "at a lot of other schools in other places, they don’t have this"

The Lycée Sophie-Germain in the Marais area of Paris is not a deprived school.

The area is affluent. But they are protesting here too.

"We know we are lucky. We have a good high school, good teachers, good equipment – but we know that at a lot of other schools in other places, they don’t have this," says Adèle, 17.

For Sacré, 17, the problem goes beyond the immediate material concern about resources for schools.

"Personally I am very worried. There’s climate change; there’s AI, wars," she says.

"The more time passes, the more I’m saying to myself: 'In what world am I going to grow up? What am I going to leave for my kids?' Actually, I am very scared for the future."

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing The Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL), one of the organisers of today's protests, claims 1,800 high schools are currently blockaded or closed by the Ministry of Education.

It also reports that 90% of universities are blockaded, adding in a statement on X that the level of mobilisation has reached "a new record".

On Friday, the USL said more than 30 universities and more than 600 high schools had been blocked as part of the ongoing demonstrations.

In its statement today, the union also reiterated its demands.

These include opening up 150,000 places in higher education, €10 billion for emergency reconstruction in schools, and "mass hiring" of teachers.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Image source, ReutersOn Monday, a 15-year-old's hand was blown off, reportedly by a sting-ball grenade, following confrontation between students and police in the northern town of Lens.

The prefect of Pas-de-Calais, François-Xavier Lauch, said the student's life was "not in danger", but described the incident as "very serious".

Lauch told French media that riot police were deployed after students near Auguste Béhal high school threw stones, fireworks, and mortars at police.

The non-lethal weapon is used by riot police for crowd control management, and there are conflicting accounts on whether the boy picked up the grenade.

A regional prosecutor said an investigation would be carried out by the French police watchdog, the General Inspection of the National Police (IGPN).

This is not the first injury sustained in recent protests. Last week, a 14-year-old was reportedly struck in the head with a tear gas canister and suffered a jaw fracture.

A 16-year-old boy named Mael also lost use of his right eye during the blockade of Balzac High School in the central town of Tours.

The government says 215 students have been injured since the protests began with more than 500 schools closed and demonstrations expected to remain ongoing.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingNick BeakeEurope correspondent, reporting from Lille

Our correspondent in Lille, where bins were set on fire earlier

We’re in the city of Lille in northern France where pupils gathered from early this morning outside their schools to protest.

Many descended on Lycée Fénelon, where students here are holding banners calling for more investment in their education.

Bins were set on fire in the street before firefighters arrived to extinguish them. You can see police officers waiting in the wings but there’s no sign of further trouble, here at least.

But at a hospital in this city a 15-year-old boy is being treated after losing his hand during a protest yesterday in nearby Lens.

The authorities say he picked up a sting ball grenade which then exploded. Students have claimed he was hit directly after an officer fired.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Image source, ReutersImage caption, The student protests began in Paris, and continued there on Tuesday

Across France, student protests have broken out over a lack of teachers and staff, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings.

It started with high school students, but university students soon followed with demonstrations across the country shutting hundreds of schools and blockading dozens of university campuses.

Speaking to the BBC last week, one student who identified himself as Diego said "it's not normal" for there to be 40 students in a class for two hours. "We are angry," he said.

The Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL), a secondary school students' union and one of the leading organisations behind the protests, says they are necessary because "other student actions, such as petitions or demonstrations, elicit no response from our political leaders".

Education Minister Édouard Geffray conceded at the start of protests last month that some of the students’ demands were "legitimate", but politicians across the spectrum have condemned the violence that has followed.

French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said last week that a "violent minority" were taking part in the protests and questioned whether they were even high school students.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Image source, ReutersImage caption, French high school students gather outside the Lycee Henri IV in Paris

France is bracing itself for another day of mass protest, as students demand more investment in their schools.

Students are already protesting outside schools across the country, while tens of thousands are expected to take to the streets today as powerful trade unions join the demonstrations.

The first protests were organised at the end of last month in the Paris region, with the cause taken up by the Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL) – a union for secondary school students – which called for a national blockade.

Demonstrations have since spread rapidly across the country – from Lille, to Marseille, to Nantes – and hundreds of schools have been partially or totally closed.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that students in Paris had constructed barricades out of bins and held up banners reading: "We want to be heard, not teargassed" and "our future is not optional".

While many protests have been peaceful, others have spiralled into violence – with schools being set alight and more than 5,000 people arrested over the past week.

We'll be bringing you all of the latest developments on this right here.