Thousands of people took to the streets across France, with crowds of teenagers marching from the Place de la République in Paris. Police forces clashed with demonstrators in Lyon, and tear gas was deployed in Paris and Marseille, while water cannons were used in Rennes.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu stated that 215 students and 85 staff sustained injuries, alongside 715 police officers. Disruption affected 891 high schools on Tuesday.
Students' unions reported the total number of demonstrators reached 450,000. Riot officers fired tear gas in Marseille.
A student in Marseille, Alissa, stated, “Most of us aren't violent.” Alissa, a student in Marseille, further explained, “We're going to the streets because they've closed our schools... schools are falling apart.”
Sacha claimed that the general state of the schools in Marseille was poor, noting that ceilings were leaking. The Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, accused the radical-left France Unbowed (LFI) party of attempting to "sow chaos."
Education Minister Édouard Geffray appealed for dialogue instead of school blockades. The CGT plans further protests involving both school and university students for Thursday.
France's IGPN police inspectorate has commenced an investigation into allegations of police using disproportionate force. Last week, a police officer fired a tear-gas grenade at a high school student at Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, located north-west of Paris.
Eden, aged 14, suffered a fractured jaw, and his upper teeth were broken while four of his lower teeth were missing. A 15-year-old's hand was torn off after an anti-encirclement grenade was fired near a school in Lens.
The local prefect stated that the Lens incident occurred when police faced a group of 200 to 250 students throwing fireworks and stones. The protests initially began in mid-September.
The French interior ministry reported that police had stopped or arrested 6,547 people since 28 September. Alain stated, “We are the grandparents of three students who are all mobilised. They have protested peacefully in front of their respective high schools in Paris in recent days, but they were still tear-gassed.”
