BBC | Oct 6, 2026
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SUMMARY
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More than 250,000 people have demonstrated across France in protest at what they say is under-investment in high schools
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The estimate from France’s interior ministry comes as one union said 2,000 high schools shut across the country
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An officer has been charged after a boy was hit by a projectile during protests near Paris last week, as political debate rages over police force
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Today police fired tear gas in protests, including in the capital and Marseille – our reporter there said he could “feel it in my throat and eyes”
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In Lyon, a barricade was set on fire; while in Rennes, police used water cannon. In Paris, one 17-year-old told us she studies in “overcrowded” classes of 35
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But, as Mark Lowen reported from Marseille, it’s hard to see how the demands will be met by a government that urgently needs to rein in public spending
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In parliament, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said: “Burning down a high school does not improve the state of high school buildings”
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