‘Student’ riots rock France as masked males torch colleges and douse lecturers in petrol
Student protests have escalated into widespread riots in France with schools set on fire and teachers beaten and doused in petrol.
Rioters have unleashed chaos in major cities across the country after what started as largely peaceful demonstrations against the state of education descended into violent chaos.
Protests began last Monday, when students and teaching staff took to French towns and cities to demand the replacement of absent teachers, an increase of educational resources, school renovations and ‘decent’ learning conditions.
But disorder has spread since Tuesday with some 600 arrests and 85 police officers wounded.
The unrest gathered pace this week after the Left-wing mayor of Saint-Denis, Bally Bagayoko, told protesters on Tuesday ‘violence can be legitimate’ in remarks that sparked fury across the country.
In Marseille, staff at the Victor Hugo High School were splashed with petrol as the school was targeted in an arson attempt. All members of staff were forced to take refuge inside the building for their safety.
In Nantes, the entrance hall of Nelson Mandela High School was destroyed by a fire this morning.
The school’s deputy head Gaelle Cordier said this was an act of ‘arson’.
Students pose before burning trash as highschool students demonstrate countrywide over what they denounce as poor learning conditions, near the Lycee Deodat high school in Toulouse, south-western France
French student protesters burn trash bins and bicycles during clashes with French riot police (CRS) in Aubervilliers, near Paris, France, on Thursday
High-school students as a fire burns in the background near the Lycee Deodat in Toulouse south-western France, on October 1, 2026
French Gendarmes run towards a high school student that pointed a firework launcher at them as protesting students demonstrate in the streets of Bordeaux, south-western France
Footage from the school showed all storeys of the entrance hall alight, as people stood around and watched.
Another clip, captured from further away, showed smoke rising out of the building.
Elsewhere in Marseille, a firefighter was injured after rioters set a fire engine alight near the Saint-Exupéry high school this morning.
A video of the incident showed black-clad young men battering the emergency vehicle with metal objects, before cheering as a fire quickly began consuming it.
The mayor of the city, Benoit Payan, today called for calm.
He wrote on social media: ‘Our youth is legitimately concerned about its future and that of the public service. It must be able to express itself in a calm framework.
‘Today, our city is the scene of unacceptable violence, fires, and assaults suffered by teachers, firefighters, journalists and Marseillais, which no cause can justify.
‘I call for calm from each and every one, and for finding the path to a democratic expression of grievances.
The Left-wing mayor of Saint-Denis, Bally Bagayoko told protesters on Tuesday ‘violence can be legitimate’
Protesting students throw items on to burning bins in Lille, northern France
A protester kicks a tear gas canister amid clashes with riot police near Lycee Paul Eluard in Saint-Denis, near Paris
Bins are set on fire in front of the Lycee des Menuts secondary school during a student protest in Bordeaux
‘Marseille stands alongside those who defend the public service and the future of our youth, not alongside those who destroy, set fires and commit violence.’
Speaking in Madrid yesterday, President Emmanuel Macron slammed hard-Left politicians he accused of ‘legitimising violence’ in the French school protests.
Mr Macron has since called a crisis meeting in Paris to deal with the spiralling unrest. French media reported that all ministerial trips have been cancelled until the beginning of next week, in light of the heightened security situation.
Interior minister Laurent Nunez slammed the ‘targeting of law enforcement officers, the throwing of projectiles, acts of violence, verbal abuse, attempted arson, and what amounts… to urban violence’.
Education minister Edouard Geffray today called for classes to be held remotely at schools where blockades are taking place.
He described the violent scenes this morning as ‘extremely serious’, calling for ‘those who commit this violence to be prosecuted and punished’ and adding: ‘It goes far beyond the issue of schools alone. No demand can justify such acts.’
Hard-right politician Marine Le Pen has now weighed in on the matter.
She wrote on social media: ‘Marseille, Lyon, Grenoble, Besançon, Nîmes, Strasbourg: everywhere in France, the situation is deteriorating. Teachers are being attacked, street furniture is being set on fire, buses are being pelted with stones.
‘By personally showing up in front of high schools to harangue the youth, by calling on his supporters to rise up in insurrection, by sending his deputies to the school grounds, Jean-Luc Mélenchon bears heavy responsibility for the situation our country is facing today.
‘Order must be restored and access to high schools ensured. The safety of students and teachers must be guaranteed. Nothing can justify these outrages, committed for several days now and only intensifying, being allowed to continue.’
In Pas-de-Calais, the headteacher of the Fernand Degrugillier vocational high school in Auchel was injured by a ‘mortar’ firework this morning.
The entrance hall of Nelson Mandela high school (pictured) was consumed by flames today
A student kicks a burning bin as students for a blockade at the Louis Pasteur middle school, in Strasbourg
Students burn garbage as they protest in Lille to demand more resources
French national police in anti-riot gear detain a protester as students carry out a blocking protest at the Cesar Baggio secondary school in Lille
The man, in his fifties, was hit in the ear and taken to hospital, officials said. Regional authorities said that 37 have been arrested since this morning.
In Bordeaux, dramatic footage taken on Rue Sainte-Catherine in Bordeaux, one of Europe’s longest shopping streets, showed teenage protesters lighting cans of aerosol on fire in a pile.
After a few seconds, the pile exploded and the gathered crowd of thugs cheered.
At the Claude Fauriel high school in Saint-Etienne, countless young men in hoodies were seen running through the campus.
Several cities have said that their public transport systems have come to a complete standstill.
Marseille officials announced it will stop bus, tram and metro services following a targeted attack against a bus driver near high schools in the north and east of the city.
Meanwhile, Strasbourg has suspended its tram services ‘in order to limit the movement of vandals and protesters’.
Grenoble officials said they were shutting off the city’s bus and tram services due to the ‘high school student movement’.
In Marseille, a firefighter was injured after rioters set a fire engine alight near the Saint-Exupery high school this morning
A student displays a placard which reads ‘Gen Z is Angry’ near burning bins in Lille
At the Claude Fauriel high school in Saint-Etienne, countless young men in hoodies were seen running through the campus
Saint-Denis mayor Bagayoko, said early this morning that he stood by his Tuesday remarks as ‘they are the correct words of a mayor who does not wish to engage in a logic of escalating violence’.
The Paris Police Prefect has since filed a complaint against Mr Bagayoko for ‘incitement to commit a crime’.
Yesterday evening, French security services said they had arrested over 600 people during the national riots.
Eighty-three police officers and gendarmes were wounded on Wednesday during the protests, which affected a total of 356 schools, he added.
