Over 400 Detained in French High School Protests
More than 400 people, mainly students, were taken into police custody during nationwide high school demonstrations in France, while dozens of teachers and officers were injured.
More than 400 individuals, most of them minors, were detained on Tuesday as student protests spread across French high schools, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said. The education ministry reported that the unrest affected at least 400 schools, and officials confirmed injuries to at least 10 teachers, several students and 48 police officers.
A 16-year-old student told AFP the demonstrations aim to highlight what she described as a "completely broken" education system, citing overcrowded classes of 34 pupils and overworked teachers. Nuñez told BFMTV that around 440 people were held, adding that two-thirds of those detained were placed in police custody.
When questioned about the police response, Nuñez described the actions as "extremely proportionate." Education Minister Gabriel Geffray posted on social media that the right to demonstrate is a fundamental freedom but warned that legitimising blockades endangers both students and public employees, calling such calls "irresponsible." The protests, which began last week in the Île-de-France region around Paris, have since spread to lycées nationwide.