--- title: Photos Show Unrest as French Student Protest Goes Nationwide description: More than 250,000 people took to streets across France on Tuesday as teachers, parents, and union activists joined students who have spent the past two weeks protesting, what they say is, a poorly-funded high school system. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/10/06/france-student-protest-in-photos/ author: Olivia-Anne Cleary article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-10-06T19:36:02.644Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T19:36:03.350Z og:title: Photos Show Scenes of Unrest as French Student Protest Goes Nationwide og:description: More than 250,000 people took to streets across France on Tuesday as teachers, parents, and union activists joined students who have spent the past two weeks protesting, what they say is, a poorly-funded high school system. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/10/06/france-student-protest-in-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05c7bcbfe2060fe2/6ac521c00ce84ad94bfad867/france-student-protests-2026-05.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y0.00 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: france-student-protests-2026-05.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Photos Show Scenes of Unrest as French Student Protest Goes Nationwide twitter:description: More than 250,000 people took to streets across France on Tuesday as teachers, parents, and union activists joined students who have spent the past two weeks protesting, what they say is, a poorly-funded high school system. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05c7bcbfe2060fe2/6ac521c00ce84ad94bfad867/france-student-protests-2026-05.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y0.00 ---  # Photos Show Scenes of Unrest as French Student Protest Goes Nationwide > Sponsored content. 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Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=9c75417b-e2be-4824-8a57-b6c2cd385f27&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=9c75417b-e2be-4824-8a57-b6c2cd385f27&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1)  An injured protester screams in front of police as high school students demonstrate countrywide over what they denounce as poor learning conditions, near the Lycee Deodat high school in Toulouse, south-western France, on Oct. 1, 2026. An injured protester screams in front of police as high school students demonstrate countrywide over what they denounce as poor learning conditions, near the Lycee Deodat high school in Toulouse, south-western France, on Oct. 1, 2026. Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images --- Story by [Olivia-Anne Cleary](https://time.com/author/olivia-anne-cleary/) and [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) Oct 6, 2026 7:36 PM UTC An injured protester screams in front of police as high school students demonstrate countrywide over what they denounce as poor learning conditions, near the Lycee Deodat high school in Toulouse, south-western France, on Oct. 1, 2026. Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images More than 250,000 people took to streets across France on Tuesday as teachers, parents, and union activists joined students who have [spent the past two weeks protesting](https://time.com/article/2026/10/02/france-student-protests-arrests-injuries-school-closures/), what they say is, a poorly-funded high school system. French police fired tear gas in Paris and Marseille, and used water cannons in Rennes, as tensions escalated. Footage [showed clashes between](https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/100000011195907/france-protests-school-students.html) the authorities and protesters. Some demonstrators lit fires in the streets and hurled projectiles. Other protests appeared more calm, with students holding signs calling out school issues such as staff shortages and overcrowded classrooms. The scenes unfolded after Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL) and Union Étudiante (UE) [called](https://syndicollectif.fr/appel-des-organisations-de-jeunesse-le-6-octobre-2026/) for the blockade of high schools and universities nationwide. The groups urged “all trade union and political organizations to support our mobilization which extends beyond the walls of our institutions.” Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told parliament that the protests amounted to “the heaviest toll in decades paid by the school system.” He said at least 215 teenagers and 85 educational staff had been injured in clashes. More than 700 police officers had incurred injuries. France's Interior Ministry said around ​6,100 people had been arrested since the protests began roughly two weeks ago. “Burning down a high school does not improve the state of high school buildings,” said Lecornu, referring to the reported violence as “unacceptable.” Joanna, a university student who attended high school in a Parisian suburb, [told](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm93egpj7y0kt?post=asset%3A9acc2bee-8332-49e0-b3f2-56aaa1fa8056#post) the BBC that the police response has been “really aggressive.” She said high school pupils have been throwing objects on fire, but insisted "if they don't do that, they are not heard.” TIME has reached out to the Interior Ministry for comment. A 15-year-old’s hand was blown off during an altercation between high school students and riot police in Northern France on Monday, according to François-Xavier Lauch, the prefect of Pas-de-Calais. _La Voix du Nord,_ a regional newspaper, said the teenager had lost his hand and part of his lower arm after picking up a police grenade intended to be non-lethal. The General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) is looking into the incident. The Education Ministry reported the closure of at least 900 high schools on Tuesday as protests spread across the nation. The USL gave a much higher figure, saying that around 2,000 high schools had shut down. Facing mounting pressure to get the protests under control, the French Education Ministry [launched](https://www.education.gouv.fr/lyceennes-lyceens-vous-avez-la-parole-506143) a national consultation for students on Monday. Open until Oct. 23, the portal is intended to provide a safe space for young people to express their concerns regarding France’s lycée system, the final three years of high school education. “It is essential for us to hear from all high school students and to take into account the diversity of their educational experiences,” said Education Minister Édouard Geffray. As the momentum behind the protest movement shows little sign of waning, you can see the scale of the widespread demonstrations in the images below.  Students protest in front of the Henri IV High School in Paris, participating in a national movement demanding more resources and an improvement of learning conditions in Paris, France on Oct. 6, 2026. Quentin de Groeve—Hans Lucas/Reuters  Riot police stand in front of demonstrators participating in a nationwide day of actions called by high-school students, joined by unions and teachers across France, on Oct. 6, 2026. Sebastien Salom-Gomis—AFP/Getty Images  A student reacts by a burning barricade during a student-led protest, south-western France, on Oct. 1, 2026. Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images  High school students in Paris gather at Place de la République on Oct. 6, 2026, as part of nationwide protests against learning conditions. Samuel Sotto—SIPA/AP  Students protest across France against poor learning conditions including missing teachers, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings that cannot cope with rising temperatures. Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt—AFP/Getty Images  Protesters march along a road past a burning garbage bin during a demonstration of high-school students as part of a nationwide protest movement over learning conditions in Toulouse, on Oct. 6, 2026. Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images  A protester receives eye drops to alleviate tear gas exposure, Oct. 1, 2026. Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images  Students chant slogans during a demonstration against under-resourced schools, in Paris, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. Teresa Suarez—AP  CRS riot police charge protesters at the end of a demonstration part of a nationwide day of actions called by high-school students, joined by unions and teachers, who for days have been demanding better learning conditions in protests punctuated by violent confrontations in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on Oct. 6, 2026. Philippe Lopez—AFP/Getty Images  Burning e-scooters near the Saint-Charles secondary school in Marseille, southern France, on Oct. 1, 2026. Miguel Medina—AFP/Getty Images  A masked protester holds French flag during a demonstration by high school and university students in Paris on Oct. 6, 2026. 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