France detains nearly 2,000 as student school protests turn violent

Blockades that began last week in the Paris region widened. Police said hundreds of demonstrations were under way outside lycées — France’s schools for ages 15 to 18 — by mid-morning Thursday, with more than 160 schools shut, according to reporting by Al Jazeera from AFP, AP, and Reuters. BBC said the Interior Ministry counted 1,027 lycées affected and blockades at 222. University students also blocked access to about 30 campuses, a student union said.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened a crisis meeting and asked ministers to cancel upcoming official travel so authorities could focus on the unrest, his office said, according to the Associated Press. Education Minister Édouard Geffray said classes should move online when blockades or damage put students at risk. "Violence will not deprive our students of their fundamental right to education," he wrote on X, AP reported.

In Marseille, authorities described serious incidents at high schools. Local officials said teachers at Victor Hugo high school were inadvertently splashed when a student tried to throw petrol into a rubbish bin; the prosecutor’s office had earlier said staff were assaulted and "doused in petrol," Al Jazeera reported. Police said youths at Saint-Exupéry high school surrounded a firetruck, forced firefighters away, and set the vehicle alight.

Friday: Nearly 400 of France’s roughly 3,700 lycées were closed Friday, many with classes moved online, and prefects banned gatherings near closed schools, AFP reported via France 24 and Le Monde. Geffray said at least 65 staff members, including 40 principals, and about 170 students have been hurt since the movement began, and that more than 100 schools suffered severe damage. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin told RTL radio that about 2,000 people have been taken into custody since the start, 90% of them minors, and that he asked prosecutors to hold parents liable for damage.

Politics: The government and hard-right figures have accused the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party of encouraging unrest. Presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon said his party "called for nonviolent methods of struggle" and criticized the government response as repressive, Al Jazeera and AP reported. National Rally leader Marine Le Pen said the events were "riots organized by professionals" and called for a new anti-rioting law, BBC reported. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told Reuters that agitators moved between schools; he also said police opened internal inquiries into brutality claims involving three students.

Core facts from Associated Press (Nicolas Garriga, John Leicester) via local AP partners, Oct 1, 2026; BBC (Malu Cursino) citing French Interior Ministry arrest and injury totals; Al Jazeera (AFP/AP/Reuters) on school fires, Marseille, and student grievances; Fox News (Tyler Speicher) with Reuters/AP and hard-right/left framing. Interior Ministry Thursday totals (1,949 arrests; 305 officers injured) preferred over earlier two-day tallies. Marseille petrol detail attributed to both prosecutor and local authorities where they differ. US Brief has not reviewed French Interior Ministry raw releases beyond these outlets. Refresh 4:22 AM PT Oct 2: added Friday developments (≈400 lycées closed, protest bans near closed schools, Geffray injury counts, Darmanin ~2,000 in custody since start/90% minors, parental liability, Oct. 6 protest call) per AFP via France 24/Le Monde and DW; updated What's next (Friday meeting now held). Thursday 1,949-arrest ministry figure kept; Darmanin's ~2,000 is a since-start figure. The Connexion reported 2,500+ arrests — not used; it differs from official figures.