PARIS — Thousands of students and workers marched in Paris and other French cities Saturday over school funding and soaring living costs, reports BritPanorama.
Police used tear gas in Lyon, where the rally had been banned, on Saturday morning. In Clermont-Ferrand, officers deployed tear gas and stun grenades to push back demonstrators attempting to reach the city center, according to French media.
Authorities confined the Paris march to the city’s southeastern edge, away from the center. Several thousand people marched from Porte d’Italie early in the afternoon, a smaller turnout than a week earlier. Trade unions led the procession, followed by protesters in raincoats carrying flags and handmade placards.
To prevent a repeat of recent unrest involving looting, burned cars, and attacks on public buildings, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced the deployment of up to 70,000 officers nationwide, supported by helicopters, armored vehicles, and water cannons.
Additional protests occurred in Orléans, south of Paris, where demonstrators held a separate peaceful rally against the far right amid Marine Le Pen’s National Rally’s two-day congress in the city.
A small protest became a national movement
What began last month as a demonstration over staff shortages at a single high school southeast of Paris has evolved into a national movement. Students and workers are voicing their anger over living standards during the final months of President Emmanuel Macron’s presidency, demanding better schools and higher wages and pensions.
Energy prices in France surged 21.3% in September compared to the previous year, contributing to an overall inflation rate of 3.1%, according to the national statistics agency, INSEE.
Macron met with high school representatives on Friday, and although he promised to overhaul university admissions, they called for protests to continue until concrete measures are put in place.
Last Saturday, over half a million people took to the streets, with approximately 3,000 shops across France reported as damaged or looted.
Shops board up and museums close
Gendarmes were present beneath the Arc de Triomphe as shopkeepers boarded up storefronts across Paris. Near the Saint-Lazare train station, Akram Ahmed, a contractor, responded to an urgent call to protect an optician’s shop, saying, “The owner seemed desperate. He said I was saving his life.”
Major museums, including the Louvre, Orsay Museum, Picasso Museum, and Grand Palais, were closed on Saturday due to security concerns. Art Basel, a prominent contemporary art fair, opened briefly on Friday but cancelled its weekend events owing to fears of unrest.
Some protests have been banned
Police altered the route for the Paris march on Friday, substituting the planned Bastille-to-Nation path with one from Porte d’Italie to Porte de Vincennes. At Bastille, police used a megaphone to direct potential participants to disperse or face fines of €135 ($150).
Soumaya Abed, a nurse and long-time protester, noted the unusual starting point of Porte d’Italie, saying, “They are using what happened last week as an excuse to quiet protesters. But it won’t stop the movement. It won’t stop students from demanding better conditions in schools.”
While protest marches are scheduled in Paris and Marseille, others in Lyon, Nice, and Montpellier have been banned by local authorities.
Critics of the bans, particularly trade unions, argue they represent violations of freedom of expression, which is constitutionally protected.
Macron enters this crisis facing low public approval ratings as he approaches the end of his term, asserting that the measures are essential to protect city centers, businesses, and public infrastructure.
Nuñez acknowledged this week that police lost control in certain cities during last weekend’s unrest and offered his resignation, which Macron declined.
Students and workers are angry
Students are calling for an increase of 250,000 places in higher education and an end to the current university admissions process, Parcoursup. Their proposals also include demands for more teachers and repairs to schools and universities.
According to figures from the Education Ministry, public middle and high schools lost 15.4 million teaching hours in the 2024-25 school year due to unfilled teacher absences, accounting for 7.5% of scheduled teaching time.
The protesters are also advocating for increased financial aid, including an additional €200 a month in student grants and a rent freeze for public student housing.
“The money is now concentrated in the hands of very few people,” remarked Victoria Ambrosini, an art critic and art teacher at Saint-Denis University.
