School Protests: 400,000 March in France

French streets filled with hundreds of thousands of marchers on Saturday as students and supporters demanded better school conditions and fairer policing. The demonstrations coincided with President Emmanuel Macron's final months in office, a period marked by rising social tension and political instability.

Government officials estimated that at least 400,000 people participated in the nationwide marches. Trade union leaders disputed this figure, claiming the total reached 800,000. In Paris alone, authorities counted a minimum of 110,000 marchers along the city's eastern edge. To manage the crowds, the state deployed more than 70,000 police officers. Many shops boarded their windows and several museums closed their doors to protect staff and visitors.

The mood in the capital remained relaxed for much of the afternoon. Brass bands played, and families including children and grandparents walked together. Banners carried by marchers criticized the government's approach to law enforcement, with slogans reading 'Oppression breeds rebellion' and 'The right to protest.' Participants supported high school students while also expressing frustration over high living costs and what they described as heavy-handed police tactics.

Tensions increased at the end of the Paris route near Porte de Vincennes. Groups of masked men in black, who appeared separate from the main crowd, threw glass bottles and stones at officers. Police responded with teargas, water cannon, and stun grenades. Fireworks were set off toward the line of officers, and a trash bin was set on fire. Similar clashes occurred in other major cities. Teargas was used in Lyon, Lille, Montpellier, Nantes, and Toulouse to keep crowds out of city centers. Bin fires were lit in Marseille during confrontations.

The crisis originated in mid-September when students aged 15 to 18 began protesting staff shortages and deteriorating school buildings. The movement has expanded to include teachers, parents, and trade unions. Police investigations are ongoing after some children and protesters were injured by explosive weaponry. Anger also targeted Macron's ban on non-union demonstrations deemed 'illegitimate' and his strategy of keeping protesters away from central areas.

Nadège, a 43-year-old communications worker, said she was teargassed during a peaceful demonstration the previous weekend. 'I'm out again peacefully today to support everyone who is brave enough to demonstrate. It does take courage. People are afraid now,' she said. 'In France, it's our legal right to protest in the street and I'm here to defend that.' A 21-year-old student from a Paris science faculty described the situation as living in an 'authoritarian regime' that tries to stop the democratic right to protest.

Jérôme Rodrigues, a key figure from the 2018 gilets jaunes movement, said the government is afraid and pushes demonstrators to the edge of cities. He stated that demonstrations are likely to continue each weekend. In Orléans, thousands marched against a congress held by Marine Le Pen's National Rally party. The crowd shouted 'Macron, resign. Le Pen in prison.' Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported 135 arrests across France. Confiscated weapons included metal balls, lead pellets, slingshots, a katana sword, and airsoft guns.