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Thousands protest across France over schools and the cost of living

School protests have run for a third week and drew an estimated 160,000 people. On Saturday demonstrators set fires in Paris and other cities, and police face scrutiny over a charge at students in Dunkirk.

ScrollBeat DeskPublished: 17 Oct 2026, 23:16

A protester holds a sign at a student demonstration in Paris on 6 October 2026, part of the school protests that have swept France for weeks. File photograph. Photo: FreCha via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). FreCha, via Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Nationwide protests over school conditions and the cost of living have run for a third week in France.
About 160,000 people have joined the school protests, The Guardian reported, as fires were set in Paris and other cities.
France is investigating why a UK-funded 4x4 was used to charge students during a protest in Dunkirk.

Protests over school conditions and the cost of living spread across France on Saturday, with demonstrators setting fires in Paris and other cities as a student-led school movement entered its third week.

The Guardian reported that an estimated 160,000 people have taken part in school protests against crumbling schools and teacher shortages, and that tear gas was fired at protesters in two areas.

Al Jazeera reported that protesters set fire to cars and buildings as demonstrations against the cost of living and declining public services escalated, with serious unrest in Paris and several other locations.

The protests have also drawn scrutiny to policing. The French government said it had opened an investigation into why police used 4x4 vehicles funded by British taxpayers to charge at students. The Guardian reported that the vehicle, a Masstech VEZI land cruiser, was among nine bought with British 'Sandhurst' funds meant to stop asylum seekers crossing the Channel, and that footage of the incident in Dunkirk was broadcast by BFM TV on 10 October.

A 14-year-old girl was injured by the vehicle and taken to hospital with a haematoma before being discharged, according to reports. The office of Interior Minister Laurent Nunez confirmed the investigation. The campaign group Utopia 56 said the vehicle had been used to charge students in the same way it is used on beaches to deter migrants; the UK Home Office declined to comment.

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