Smouldering bins, halted trams as French pupils protest

A high school entrance hall caught fire in one French city and teenage protesters blocked trams in another on Thursday, as secondary pupils upped their strike over poor learning conditions.

Students clash with police during a student-led blockade protest at the Kleber Secondary School, in Strasbourg, eastern France, on October 1, 2026. [AFP]

The movement in the lycees, which students aged 15 to 18 attend for their final three years of secondary education in France, has seen hundreds detained in recent days.

Since last week, pupils have staged protests outside schools over grievances ranging from timetables, class sizes and a shortage of teachers to overheated classrooms during this year's heatwaves.

The protests have spread across the country from the Paris suburbs, with the government accusing hard-left politicians of encouraging the unrest.

Riot police were deployed to confront the students, with the force launching internal probes after accusations of brutality against three pupils, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.

Source: Standard