France prepares for nationwide student protests amid injuries and mass arrests

France is preparing for a nationwide day of action on Tuesday after a week of student protests that saw schools blockaded, more than 5,000 arrests and at least 190 injuries. The demonstrations, which began in September with high-school students and later expanded to universities, focus on demands for greater investment in education, including overcrowded classrooms, dilapidated facilities and teacher shortages.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced measures intended to address the concerns of secondary-school students and staff, promising "visible changes" in schools while stating that the government would not concede to violence. Education Minister Édouard Geffray reported that 24 schools had been damaged during the unrest.

The Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL), a leading protest organizer, said the government's proposals lacked concrete action and called for a mobilisation on Tuesday, describing the situation as a "political deadlock" and "unprecedented repression of the movement". The teachers' union SNES-FSU also urged its members to join the protest.

Violent clashes have resulted in serious injuries, including a 15-year-old boy in Lens who lost part of his hand and a 14-year-old in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône who suffered a double jaw fracture after being struck by a tear-gas grenade. Authorities said most of the 5,060 people arrested since the protests began were minors.

Political figures have weighed in, with La France Insoumise leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon calling the movement the most powerful student movement since 1968, while hard-right leaders such as Marine Le Pen accused left-wing parties of orchestrating the unrest and called for stricter anti-rioting legislation. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez defended police actions as "extremely proportionate".

The protests are occurring ahead of France's upcoming presidential election, adding a political dimension to the ongoing dispute over education policy and public order.