A head teacher was doused with petrol and fires were set at schools in Marseille and Nantes as student protests over staff shortages and deteriorating school facilities intensified across France.
The incidents occurred as hundreds of students took part in demonstrations and blockades that have increasingly turned violent, putting pressure on the French government.
In Marseille, police said hundreds of young people surrounded a fire engine that arrived at Saint-Exupery High School to extinguish a blaze. The attackers reportedly forced firefighters out of the vehicle before setting the truck on fire.
A head teacher at Victor Hugo High School, also in Marseille, was attacked and doused with petrol, according to the prosecutor’s office. The official sustained injuries, although authorities did not provide further details.
Another fire broke out at Nelson Mandela High School in Nantes, according to fire crews. Olivier Chateau, a deputy mayor of Nantes, told broadcaster Franceinfo that the fire had been brought under control and no injuries were reported.
The school building was evacuated, while students who were expected to arrive were turned away, Chateau said.
The protests and school blockades, which began last week, have become a major political challenge for the government amid public opposition to spending cuts included in its proposed 2027 budget.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office held a crisis meeting yesterday to address the escalating demonstrations, which officials said had resulted in dozens of injuries. Hundreds of people, most of them teenagers, have also been arrested.
In Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, groups of young protesters gathered in front of police officers. One student held a placard reading: “Can we explain ourselves without being teargassed?”
Students have accused police of using heavy-handed tactics, including tear gas, during attempts to disperse demonstrations.
The government has condemned violence during the protests while acknowledging concerns over conditions in the country’s high schools.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said some troublemakers were moving from one school to another to encourage further unrest.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray urged schools to switch to remote learning where protesters were preventing access to school premises.
“Violence will not keep our students from their fundamental right to an education,” he said in a post on X.
Authorities said investigations into the incidents were continuing as the government sought to contain the unrest.
