French Students Face Police Violence Amid Nationwide Education Protests

The protests, which began in Parisian suburbs, have expanded into a national movement demanding increased staffing, smaller class sizes, and an end to discriminatory admissions policies. On Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of participants rallied at over 170 locations. The Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) and other unions have joined the picket lines, forming human chains to shield students from police tactics that activists compare to the 2018 Yellow Vest repression.

In Lens, a 15-year-old student lost his hand after a police grenade detonated, while other minors in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône and near Paris sustained jaw fractures and severe dental trauma from close-range projectile fire. Despite mounting evidence of serious injuries—including eye damage from rubber-coated steel bullets in Tours—Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has refused to apologize for the police response. While left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has called for nonviolent resistance against what he termed police "savagery," the government continues to defend its enforcement measures. Amnesty International has since urged authorities to prioritize de-escalation and protect the rights of young people to demonstrate peacefully.