PARIS: Mass protests over decrepit conditions at France’s high schools descended into sporadic violence on Tuesday, leading to nearly 500 arrests and prompting President Emmanuel Macron to call an emergency meeting. The protests started in late September with students blocking entrances to hundreds of high schools for 15- to 17-year-olds over complaints of dilapidated facilities and teacher shortages.

US President Donald Trump weighed in on Tuesday to blame the unrest in France on “mass migration” and Islam, as he pushed his global right-wing narrative ahead of tough midterm elections at home. In France, parents, teachers and union workers joined the high school students’ movement in the capital Paris and other cities.

Trump blames unrest on ‘mass migration’ and Islam

The interior ministry said 256,000 people protested nationwide, while union organisers put the figure at 450,000. Macron was expected to meet top officials on Tuesday, including Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and Education Minister Edouard Geffray, in response to the unrest, a government source said. At least 488 people were arrested and 43 members of the security forces were wounded on Tuesday, the interior ministry announced. Rights groups, unions and the students have accused authorities of using disproportionate force. A teenager lost a hand on Monday after police fired a stun grenade.

A 14-year-old student in northwest Paris was hit in the face with a tear gas grenade at such close range that he lost several teeth. A policeman was charged Tuesday over that incident.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2026