The Free Press · October 5, 2026 · By Simone Rodan-Benzaquen

Student protests spread across France; hundreds of schools to close

• Paris high school students began protesting over long school hours, overheated classrooms, frequent staff absences, and crumbling buildings; the movement has since spread nationally.
• Protesters blocked school entrances with trash bins, set garbage fires, and clashed with police; some wore masks and balaclavas.
• In Marseille, a firefighter responding to burning trash outside Saint-Exupéry high school was injured and an emergency vehicle was torched.
• In Paris, a police lieutenant was chased, tripped, and kicked; footage included a cry of "Kill her." The report did not establish whether the attackers were students.
• More than 100 schools damaged; 65 staff members and 170 students injured.
• Education minister Édouard Geffray said 400–500 schools will close Monday; student unions called a nationwide protest day for Tuesday.

Incident details via CBS News, Marsactu, and Actu17, cited in the original report.