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Paris police chief Patrice Faure said the student protest movement across France is out of control and urged a return to peaceful action. About 5,000 people have been arrested and more than 600 police officers injured since Monday.
The student protest movement that has spread across France is now out of control, the Paris police chief said on Saturday. He urged demonstrators to return to peaceful action and warned that authorities would respond firmly to violence and vandalism.
Violent Protests and Police Clashes Across France
Riot police clashed with high school students across France on Friday. Unions also called for teachers to strike as President Emmanuel Macron's government battled to contain increasingly violent protests over classroom conditions and funding. Since Monday, around 5,000 people, mostly teenagers, have been arrested nationwide and dozens have been injured. Agathe Foucault, a spokesperson for the national police, told RTL radio on Saturday that more than 600 police officers had also been injured.
The unrest has hit teachers and members of the public, who have been attacked. Damage to property is estimated in the tens of millions of euros. Paris police chief Patrice Faure published an open letter on X ahead of planned renewed protests from next Tuesday. He said those who had launched the movement no longer controlled it.
Faure called on students to abandon school blockades and unrest in favor of peaceful forms of protest. It is time to return to peaceful forms of action, Faure wrote. He said parents also had a responsibility to steer their children away from what he described as the influence of professional rioters and their supporters. Student unions have called for a national day of demonstrations on Tuesday.
Security Concerns and School Funding Grievances
Security officials fear that an organized protest in central Paris in particular could see further violence. There are concerns that far-left anarchist groups could hijack the movement. The students blockading high schools have voiced anger over overcrowding in classrooms, regular shortages of teachers and dilapidated buildings. The students blame years of underinvestment for the conditions.
Protests have spread across the country, including in Lille, where students demanded more resources for schools. In Lille, a student held a board reading, we want BAC (High School Diploma) Not the BAC (Anti-criminality units) during a protest on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. Students also burned garbage as they protested to demand more resources for school in Lille on the same day. Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Susan Fenton.
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CP24:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
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