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French presidential campaign heats up as student protests fuel political clashes

The unrest has drawn civil servants and unions into a broader protest wave over budget cuts and school conditions, with 164 arrests reported Monday.

  • On Monday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu warned that escalating student protests are "irresponsible" following the arrest of 164 individuals. Across France, 180 schools faced disruptions, with 12 students, 12 security personnel, and three staff members injured.
  • Protesters cite 10 years of President Emmanuel Macron's policies, citing teacher shortages, dilapidated schools, and Parcoursup stress. The Union Syndicale Lycéenne called the blockades a "legitimate response" to systemic neglect in the education system.
  • Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described demonstrations as "urban violence" involving masked individuals with fireworks and projectiles. BFMTV reported that in one incident, a police officer fired a grenade launcher, injuring a high school student in Alpes-Maritimes.
  • Lecornu accused the far-left France Unbowed party of encouraging unrest, while LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon blamed the government for having "ordered the crackdown," calling students "harmless." The clash reflects intensifying political divisions.
  • These clashes occur as the government attempts to pass a 2027 state budget through the National Assembly amid divided political support. Simultaneously, unions representing civil servants and hospital staff initiated walkouts, compounding pressure on Lecornu's administration.
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Lean Left

Student protests in France have escalated, with clashes between youths and police in several cities, while blockades of high schools are spreading across the country. In Lille, in northern France, masked students burned trash cans and threw bottles, stones and other objects at police, who used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Similar protests and incidents were also reported in Nantes, Paris, Rennes, Marseille, Bordeaux and Lyon, the Telegraph re…

Lean Left

In France, 10 students and educational staff were injured in actions organized by high schools for better educational conditions and in which the police intervened.

·Istanbul, Türkiye
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Lean Left

Seven months before the elections and just two days before the government presents its draft 2027 budget, polls show a steady decline in the popularity of the center-right government The post France: The noose tightens for Macron – Student protests and civil servant strike appeared first on in.gr.

·Greece
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Right

"Fireworks, fires, violence near high schools, nothing justifies putting students, staff or police officers at risk," wrote Prime Minister Sebastien Lecorni.

·Marousi, Greece
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Lean Left

French lyceans organized new protests in Paris and the country on Tuesday to demand better conditions in schools. Their actions coincided with a day of national strikes organized by trade unions. High school students organize protests in front of their schools since last week, dissatisfied with schedules, the number of students in the classes and ...

·Romania
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Lean Right

The movement, which started last week in the Paris region, extended this Tuesday to cities such as Lille, Rennes, Marseille, Bordeaux and Lyon.

·Lisboa, Portugal
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Le Parisien broke the news in Paris, France on Monday, September 28, 2026.
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