Hundreds of thousands of people marched across French cities on Saturday to support schoolchildren's demands for more teachers and building repairs, amid broader complaints about cost of living and police tactics. According to government estimates, at least 110,000 people marched in Paris along the eastern edge of the city.
Police responded with force in the capital. Almost 1,000 arrests were made as officers charged crowds and deployed teargas to prevent protesters from reaching other city centers. Protest organizers said riot police had targeted school protesters over the past month rather than the government addressing underlying political demands.
The demonstrations occur as President Emmanuel Macron navigates a social and political crisis in his final months in office. Beyond education grievances, marchers voiced discontent over high living costs and what they characterized as excessive police deployment against student activism.
The Guardian reports the protests were largely peaceful overall, though confrontations between police and demonstrators erupted in Paris. The scale of turnout across multiple French cities suggests mobilization around education quality and police practices has broadened into wider dissatisfaction with government policy.