French Interior Ministry Confirms 135 Arrests as 70,000 Officers Guard Nationwide School Marches

French residents faced a heavy police presence on Saturday as more than 70,000 officers were deployed to manage nationwide demonstrations supporting school reforms. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced that 135 people were arrested across the country, with confiscated items including metal balls, lead pellets, slingshots, and a katana sword. Shops were boarded up and museums closed as crowds filled the streets of major cities.

The current crisis traces back to mid-September, when students aged 15 to 18 began protesting staff shortages, crumbling infrastructure, and overcrowded classrooms. The movement expanded to include trade unions, teachers, and parents, becoming one of the largest youth uprisings in recent years. Police investigations are currently underway after reports of injuries caused by explosive weaponry during earlier clashes.

The government estimated that at least 400,000 people participated in the marches, a figure trade unions doubled to 800,000. In Paris, authorities counted at least 110,000 marchers along the eastern edge of the city. The atmosphere in the capital remained largely relaxed through the afternoon, with brass bands playing and families joining the procession. Banners criticizing the government’s tactics, such as "Oppression breeds rebellion," were visible among the crowd.

Tensions escalated at the end of the Paris route near Porte de Vincennes, where masked groups threw glass bottles and stones at police. Officers responded with teargas, water cannon, and stun grenades. Similar clashes occurred in Lyon, Lille, Montpellier, Nantes, Toulouse, and Marseille, where bin fires were lit and teargas was used to keep protesters away from city centers.

Protesters expressed frustration with President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to ban non-union demonstrations deemed illegitimate and to keep crowds away from central areas. Nadège, a 43-year-old communications worker, said she had been teargassed the previous weekend and returned to defend the legal right to protest in the street. A 21-year-old student described the current situation as an authoritarian regime attempting to suppress democratic expression.

In Orléans, demonstrators marched against a congress hosted by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party, shouting slogans calling for Macron to resign and Le Pen to be imprisoned. Jérôme Rodrigues, a former leader of the 2018 gilets jaunes movement, stated that the government was pushing demonstrators to the city edges to distance them from power. He predicted that demonstrations would continue every weekend.

The previous Saturday saw some of the most violent unrest in years, with public buildings burned, hundreds of shops looted, and at least 2,700 arrests. This week’s event marked a return to the streets for many who had hesitated due to fear of police action. Pierre, a 60-year-old retired banking consultant, marched for his granddaughter, citing the government's refusal to listen to public demands.