France’s nationwide unrest began with a handful of student protests at high schools in suburban Paris last month.
Today, in cities across the country, anti-government demonstrators are protesting expensive living conditions, high fuel prices and conditions in schools. Using the unrest as a smokescreen for vandalism, rioters and looters also joined in.
As the protests enter their second month, police have arrested thousands of people and politicians are divided on how to respond.
Here’s a look at what happened.
Demonstration in the Paris suburbs
Shortly after returning from summer vacation, students from a high school in the popular Paris suburb of Créteil organized a demonstration, according to videos posted on social media on September 18. High school students protested against insufficient resources and heavy workload.
Within days, students in the Paris region launched similar protests. At schools in the capital’s poorer suburbs, students have blocked entrances to protest dilapidated infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms and what they see as flaws in the higher education admissions system.
Demonstrations spread across France
By September 29, the unrest had spread to around 400 schools across the country, according to rally organizers.
The high school students’ union said the blockades were a protest against “lack of teachers and staff, dilapidated schools, overcrowded schedules and classrooms.”
Students barricaded the entrances to some schools with obstacles, including electric bikes, while others threw projectiles and set trash cans on fire.
French Education Minister Édouard Geffray said some of the students’ demands were “legitimate” but condemned the confrontational nature of their protests. He said students chased teachers and targeted school principals with firework tubes.
By the end of September, nearly 80 people had been injured and authorities had arrested more than 440, including many minors.
University students strengthen the movement
In just a few days, the number of schools affected by protests doubled. According to the Interior Ministry, as of October 2, they had spread to more than 1,000 schools across France, of which 220 were blocked. University students also began to participate.
At that time, authorities said the protests were shifting from legitimate expressions of educational demands to something more dangerous, accusing people of setting off mortar-style fireworks, burning public buildings and looting.
On October 2, nearly 400 police officers and more than 230 school employees and students were injured. The number of arrests stands at 3,000.
The movement is growing
Actions expanded in October to encompass unions, parents and other activists, as different demands converged into a mass protest.
On October 6, around 256,000 people marched in Paris and 40 other French cities, according to the Interior Ministry. A high school students’ union said protesters had occupied some 1,800 high schools.
The protests were mostly peaceful, but a fire broke out in Lyon and police used tear gas, notably in Paris. The total number of people arrested stands at 6,000, authorities said. A major union of French judges and prosecutors and a human rights group have accused police of using disproportionate force, particularly against children as young as 14.
Two days later, on October 8, smaller protests took place across the country, bringing together around 71,500 people. The following week, the Interior Ministry said that 160,000 people had participated in the October 13 protests across France.
The biggest protests to date
More than half a million people took part in 110 anti-government marches across France on October 17, according to an official estimate. A major union, the CGT, put the figure even higher, at 800,000. In both cases, it was the largest day of protest since demonstrations began in September.
Many protesters were peaceful, but some were not. Nationwide, rioters vandalized about 1,500 stores, authorities said. In Paris, where more than 100,000 people marched peacefully, a few hundred rioters confronted the police. Police said rioters set cars on fire and destroyed storefronts.
In the large city of Limoges in central France, rioters burned down the 19th-century town hall. In a moment captured on video, the building’s spire collapsed in flames.
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