Thousands arrested as French students torch schools & douse teachers in petrol in protests over ‘rat-infested classes’
Harvey Geh , Foreign News Reporter|
Peter Allen|
Anna Shreeves
Published: 08:22, 1 Oct 2026|
Updated: 14:45, 1 Oct 2026
THOUSANDS of students have been arrested after rioters set fire to schools and allegedly attacked teachers in a wave of shock protests across France.
Wild scenes have grown in scale and ferocity over the country as students continue set up barricades, ransack buildings and igniting fires over claims of rat and cockroach-infested classrooms.
Students have urged schools to improve classroom conditions
Credit: AFP
Teenagers battle riot cops launching tear gas at them
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
A youngster launches an object towards a fire amid the protests
Credit: AFP
Barricades and piles of rubbish have been set ablaze by students
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
It is reported thousands students – several under 16 – have been arrested following clashes with the police.
France’s prime minister convened a crisis meeting on Thursday, calling for ministers’ trips to be cancelled as they focus on the containing the nationwide spread of mayhem.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez condemned what he called an “escalation of violence” outside certain schools, France D.W reports.
The demonstrations kicked off on September 21 near the start of the academic year at a school in Créteil, a Paris suburb, and have snowballed from there.
It is reported thousands students – several under 16 – have been arrested following clashes with the police.
France’s prime minister convened a crisis meeting on Thursday, calling for ministers’ trips to be cancelled as they focus on the containing the nationwide spread of mayhem.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez condemned what he called an “escalation of violence” outside certain schools, France D.W reports.
The demonstrations kicked off on September 21 near the start of the academic year at a school in Créteil, a Paris suburb, and have snowballed from there.
A high school student holds a sign reading “Macron, screw your teacher, not ours”
Credit: AFP
Nelson Mandela High School on fire in the French city of NantesCredit: X
The protests have since spread across the country from the Paris suburbs, with the government accusing hard-left politicians of encouraging the unrest.
They accuse Far-left presidential hopeful Jean-Luc Mlenchon’s party of seeking to use the unrest to score points in the presidential campaign and of inciting violence.
Police have allegedly been attacked amid the mayhem – with students reportedly shooting fireworks and setting security forces on fire.
In Marseilles, staff were drenched in gasoline at the Victor-Hugo high school, including the headmaster and deputy.
The protests have since spread across the country from the Paris suburbs, with the government accusing hard-left politicians of encouraging the unrest.
They accuse Far-left presidential hopeful Jean-Luc Mlenchon’s party of seeking to use the unrest to score points in the presidential campaign and of inciting violence.
Police have allegedly been attacked amid the mayhem – with students reportedly shooting fireworks and setting security forces on fire.
In Marseilles, staff were drenched in gasoline at the Victor-Hugo high school, including the headmaster and deputy.
Masked youngsters set trash cans ablaze in Lormont, France
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Students burn garbage as they protest to demand more resources at school in Lille
Credit: AP
Shocking clips also appeared to show a fireman engulfed in flames after an aerosol can exploded outside a Bordeaux school.
The Nelson Mandela High School in Nantes was going up in a raging blaze in separate clip.
A headteacher was reportedly struck in the leg by a firework at the Jean-Pierre Timbaud school in Paris in one suspected assault.
Another principal was hit on the head by a teenager who didn’t even attend the school he worked at, reports say.
Shocking clips also appeared to show a fireman engulfed in flames after an aerosol can exploded outside a Bordeaux school.
The Nelson Mandela High School in Nantes was going up in a raging blaze in separate clip.
A headteacher was reportedly struck in the leg by a firework at the Jean-Pierre Timbaud school in Paris in one suspected assault.
Another principal was hit on the head by a teenager who didn’t even attend the school he worked at, reports say.
Students are calling for better schools
Credit: AFP
Protests have broken out across the country
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
And one young protester suffered debilitating hand injures after incorrectly firing a rocket.
At least 360 schools have been disrupted and 85 cops have been injured, authorities say.
Another 119 pupils and students have also been injured since the chaos broke out.
Allegations of police brutality have also surged amid the chaos.
And one young protester suffered debilitating hand injures after incorrectly firing a rocket.
At least 360 schools have been disrupted and 85 cops have been injured, authorities say.
Another 119 pupils and students have also been injured since the chaos broke out.
Allegations of police brutality have also surged amid the chaos.
A blazing school bus in Marseilles
Credit: X
Youngsters strike a fire engine with poles
Credit: X
A student, 14, reportedly lost several teeth after an officer fired a tear-gas grenade into his jaw from point-blank range.
Police have launched an investigation into the ordeal – with prosecutors arguing the teen had allegedly assaulted a policewoman beforehand.
Raging protests have spread beyond Paris and into several French cities including Lille, Bordeaux, and Lyon.
French president Emmanuel Macron has called for an end to the violence.
A student, 14, reportedly lost several teeth after an officer fired a tear-gas grenade into his jaw from point-blank range.
Police have launched an investigation into the ordeal – with prosecutors arguing the teen had allegedly assaulted a policewoman beforehand.
Raging protests have spread beyond Paris and into several French cities including Lille, Bordeaux, and Lyon.
French president Emmanuel Macron has called for an end to the violence.
Highschool students gather in protest with a fire raging in the background
Credit: AFP
Students gather during a blockade at a school in Paris
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
He said on Wednesday: “I can hear and understand the anxieties and anger that our youth can feel.
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