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French Protests Continue as Schools, Events Close
· Confirmed
In Short: French protests over education and living costs continue, with schools and events closing amid fears of more unrest.
French protesters continued their demonstrations on Friday, leading to the closure of more than 560 schools across the country, according to French Education Minister Édouard Geffray.
Up to 500 schools were partially or totally closed on Monday after clashes between riot police and student protesters, the French education minister said.
The unrest has seen protesters looting shops, defacing monuments, and clashing with police, with more than 2,400 people arrested since the protests began.
Organizers of the protests have called for demonstrations to continue on Tuesday, accusing the government of a lack of concrete measures to address the difficulties faced by high school students and educational staff.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said his government is taking steps to ensure classes continue, improve facilities, and organize school days better.
The French government plans to introduce localised and partial curfews in four northern communes for two nights following the violence and looting.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the government is mobilizing 70,000 police officers and gendarmes to city streets this weekend to manage the protests.
French President Emmanuel Macron voiced the public’s anger and shame over the rioting and looting, while also meeting with student representatives for the first time since the protests began.
French Prime Minister Lecornu blamed the unrest on far-left groups and criminals ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Ahead of planned protests, Art Basel Paris, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, and other museums and art events in the French capital are planning to close for part or all of Saturday.
French Jewish community members are being advised to avoid gathering outside synagogues due to the potential danger.
French authorities are also facing criticism from Iran, which summoned the French ambassador to Tehran over Paris’s treatment of protesters demanding better conditions in schools.
What this adds
The protests have escalated into widespread violence, with clashes, looting, and arson reported in several French cities, prompting about 1,200 arrests on Saturday alone.
The 15-year-old protester who lost his hand and part of his lower arm after picking up a police dispersal grenade highlights the severity of the situation.
French Prime Minister Lecornu noted that the day isn’t over yet, indicating that more unrest is expected.
The French government is facing criticism from world leaders for the unrest, with President Macron criticizing comments made by some leaders influenced by fake videos generated by artificial intelligence.
Background
The Scmp (Hong Kong) reported that a 143-year-old landmark in Limoges was largely lost to a fire started by masked protesters, while the Daily Mail noted that businesses, institutions, and events were planning to close in case of more unrest.
What's confirmed
- French protesters continued their demonstrations on Friday, leading to the closure of more than 560 schools across the country, according to French Education Minister Édouard Geffray.
- Up to 500 schools were partially or totally closed on Monday after clashes between riot police and student protesters, the French education minister said.
- The unrest has seen protesters looting shops, defacing monuments, and clashing with police, with more than 2,400 people arrested since the protests began.
- Organizers of the protests have called for demonstrations to continue on Tuesday, accusing the government of a lack of concrete measures to address the difficulties faced by high school students and educational staff.
- French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said his government is taking steps to ensure classes continue, improve facilities, and organize school days better.
- The French government plans to introduce localised and partial curfews in four northern communes for two nights following the violence and looting.
- French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the government is mobilizing 70,000 police officers and gendarmes to city streets this weekend to manage the protests.
- French President Emmanuel Macron voiced the public’s anger and shame over the rioting and looting, while also meeting with student representatives for the first time since the protests began.
- French Prime Minister Lecornu blamed the unrest on far-left groups and criminals ahead of next year’s presidential election.
- Ahead of planned protests, Art Basel Paris, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, and other museums and art events in the French capital are planning to close for part or all of Saturday.
- French Jewish community members are being advised to avoid gathering outside synagogues due to the potential danger.
- French authorities are also facing criticism from Iran, which summoned the French ambassador to Tehran over Paris’s treatment of protesters demanding better conditions in schools.
What's still developing
- On Friday, French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 735 of France's 3,700 schools had been affected "one way or another" by violent protests.
- Iran itself suffered major anti-government protests in January, during which the authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths, blaming “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel.
- Iran accused France of “violent treatment” of the protesters and “extensive and flagrant human rights violations” during the demonstrations, which began late last month and have been accompanied by unrest.
- The 15-year-old had picked up a police dispersal grenade that detonated in the town of Lens, losing his hand and part of his lower arm, officials said Monday, Reuters reported, as the wave of school protests entered its third week, François-Xavier Lauch, prefect of Pas-de-Calais, said roughly 200 to 250 protesters had been hurling objects at police.
- Clashes, looting and arson reported in several French cities as similar protests spread across Europe Updated 3 days ago · Published on 18 Oct 2026 8:41AM FRANCE was rocked by widespread violence on Saturday as protests over rising living costs and deteriorating public services escalated into clashes with police, arson and looting, prompting about 1,200 arrests.
- "The government is trembling and it's right to tremble because when the French people are angry, they never let up," Ryad Rani, the head of the LSU high school student representative body, told journalists in Paris.
- Police and protesters clashed violently in Paris and other French cities Saturday on the sidelines of nationwide marches against soaring inflation, with one demonstrator's hand blown off, multiple blazes set and looters breaking into dozens of stores to strip them bare.
- The game in Paris between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints remains scheduled as planned despite civil unrest in the French capital, the NFL said Sunday.
- The French government has accused the far-left of stoking the riots that engulfed the nation on Saturday, resulting in widespread clashes with police, looting of shops, as well as vandalism and arson of government buildings.
- The French president said some leaders were influenced by fake videos generated by artificial intelligence about the unrest President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday criticised world leaders for making “stupid” comments about the rioting on the sidelines of protests in France, in an apparent swipe at US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- A 143-year-old landmark in the French city of Limoges was "largely lost" to a fire started by masked protesters on Saturday as protests in France over rising living costs and declining public services turned violent in parts of the country, resulting in more than 1,000 arrests.
- Ahead of the protests on Saturday, he said, as a precaution, "Lots of synagogues sent out emails to their people saying, 'We're canceling Mincha on Shabbat afternoon. Please don't go out. It's going to be dangerous,'" Samuel Arrouas, a French Jewish community member who divides his time between Paris and Israel, told Fox News Digital.