Over 100 French education staff injured in student protests: Minister

French Education Minister Edouard Geffray announced Friday that injuries to education staff have surpassed 100 since the start of nationwide high school protests, condemning what he called “unspeakable violence” as students maintained blockades to press demands for improved learning conditions and additional teaching personnel. Speaking to reporters after meeting students and teachers at a high school in Cachan, near Paris, Geffray stated: “Unfortunately, yesterday brought us past the 100 mark for injured staff,” according to Le Parisien. He praised staff who had protected students and school buildings during the disturbances, noting that the figure reflected only injuries to education personnel and not the broader toll among security forces.

A previous tally recorded injuries to 215 students and nearly 800 police officers and gendarmes since the movement began, the newspaper noted. Some 71,500 people demonstrated across France on Thursday, including 24,500 in Paris, according to Interior Ministry figures. Authorities reported 504 arrests and 48 police officers and gendarmes injured during that day’s mobilization alone, highlighting the escalating confrontation between security forces and youthful demonstrators.

Government deploys substitute teachers

Students are protesting chronic teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate facilities and restrictive school schedules that they say undermine educational quality and daily learning conditions across the national system. The demonstrations have spread rapidly since erupting earlier this month, with pupils organizing blockades at dozens of institutions to press their case for immediate government intervention. Geffray said Friday that 3,024 substitute teachers were being contacted for immediate deployment, with assignments expected later in the day or early next week, and added that additional contract teachers are also being recruited to address acute staffing gaps in affected institutions.

The minister outlined the measures after meeting with students and teachers at a high school in Cachan, near Paris, where he assessed conditions at one of the sites swept up in the nationwide movement. The CFDT union, one of France's largest labor organizations, welcomed the emergency teacher deployments as a preliminary step toward stabilizing the situation. Union leader Marylise Leon nevertheless noted that students’ broader demands regarding infrastructure and educational policy remained unresolved, adding that she questioned the proportionality of the police response to the demonstrations.

Protests continue amid police violence investigations

Student organizations called for another day of demonstrations on Oct. 13, with some representatives seeking a meeting with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to discuss their grievances. Blockades continued Friday in cities including Paris, Rennes and Strasbourg, forcing cancellations at Paris’ Lamartine school complex and during the morning at Pantheon-Assas University. The persistent mobilization has drawn increasing scrutiny over law enforcement tactics, particularly after Paris prosecutors opened an investigation into a video appearing to show a police officer kneeing a demonstrator in the face.

The case brings to five the number of investigations prosecutors have referred to the national police inspectorate, IGPN, over alleged police violence linked to the protests in Paris, with the nationwide figure surpassing 21. Classes were canceled at Paris’ Lamartine school complex Friday morning, while Pantheon-Assas University suspended operations during the morning session as blockades persisted in the capital.