French government deploys 70,000 police as 400,000 march for school reforms

President Emmanuel Macron’s government faced a new wave of unrest on Saturday as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France. The government estimated at least 400,000 participants nationwide, while trade unions claimed the number reached 800,000. More than 70,000 police officers were deployed to secure the routes, with many shops boarded up and museums closed to prepare for the crowds.

The movement originated in mid-September when high school students aged 15 to 18 began protesting staff shortages and crumbling infrastructure. The demonstrations have since expanded to include teachers, parents, and trade unions. The crisis has intensified political pressure on Macron, who is in his final months of office.

In Paris, at least 110,000 people marched along the eastern edge of the city according to official counts. The atmosphere remained relaxed for much of the afternoon, with brass bands playing and families participating. Banners critical of the government’s tactics, such as "Oppression breeds rebellion," were visible throughout the crowd.

Tensions rose at the end of the Paris route at Porte de Vincennes. Groups of masked men in black threw glass bottles and stones at officers. Police responded with teargas, water cannon, and stun grenades. A bin was set on fire, and fireworks were launched toward the security line. Similar clashes occurred in Lyon, Lille, Montpellier, Nantes, Toulouse, and Marseille, where officers used teargas to keep crowds away from city centers.

Demonstrators expressed anger over the government’s decision to ban non-union demonstrations deemed "illegitimate" and to keep protesters out of central areas. Nadège, a 43-year-old communications worker, said she was teargassed during a peaceful march the previous weekend. "People are afraid now," she said. "In France, it’s our legal right to protest in the street and I’m here to defend that."

A 21-year-old student from a blockaded Paris science faculty described the current political climate as an authoritarian regime attempting to suppress democratic protest. Police investigations are ongoing after several children and protesters were injured by explosive weaponry. Some marchers wore yellow vests, a reference to the 2018 and 2019 gilets jaunes movement.

Jérôme Rodrigues, a leader of the 2018 gilets jaunes movement, stated that the government is afraid and pushes demonstrators to the city edges. "It’s not police shields that will provide an answer," he said. He expects demonstrations to continue every weekend. In Orléans, thousands marched against a congress of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party, chanting "Macron, resign. Le Pen in prison."

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported that 135 people were arrested across France. Authorities confiscated a variety of items, including metal balls, lead pellets, fireworks, slingshots, steel balls, improvised weapons, a katana sword, and airsoft weapons.