French students stage fresh protests as thousands march across major cities

Thousands of high school and university students demonstrated across several French cities on Oct 13 n the latest phase of a nationwide student mobilisation, days before the All Saints' Day school holidays.

The demonstrations, described by student organisations as the movement's fifth major mobilisation, took place in Paris, Marseille, Brest, Nantes and Lyon, among other cities.

The turnout estimates differed significantly, with the inter-union group of student and high school organisations claiming around 480,000 participants, while France's Interior Ministry put the figure at 161,500, including 41,500 in Paris.

In the French capital, one procession departed from City Hall, while another set off from Place d'Italie. The second march was scheduled to reach Les Invalides, near the offices of the prime minister and the Ministry of Education, at 2 pm.

Student protests leave hundreds injured

The mobilisation has also raised concerns over injuries among students, education staff and law enforcement personnel.

According to a source close to the case cited by franceinfo, 36 investigations had been opened by the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) since the beginning of the student movement. The body investigates alleged misconduct by police personnel.

More than 200 high school students have been injured during the protests, alongside over 800 police officers and gendarmes, according to the figures cited in the report.

The Ministry of National Education separately reported that 147 education staff members had been injured since the beginning of the movement. Twenty staff members, including five school principals, were injured on Oct 12 alone.

The ministry described Monday's toll as the second-highest daily number of injuries among education personnel since the movement began, after Oct 1.

Student union and government disagree over university blockades

The extent of disruption at French universities remained contested, with student organisations and the Ministry of Higher Education offering substantially different assessments.

A student union claimed that 90 per cent of universities were blocked or closed by midday. The ministry, however, told franceinfo that 35 per cent of universities were experiencing disruptions.

The ministry's figure included administrative closures, blockades and occupations of university buildings, indicating that the reported disruptions extended beyond campuses physically occupied by protesters.

In Paris, the Assas faculty was blockaded during the morning. Other campuses faced blockades in Saint-Étienne, Avignon and Perpignan.

The contrasting estimates underline the continuing disagreement over the scale of the disruption as the student movement enters another phase of demonstrations.

Greta Thunberg joins student mobilisation

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg also joined the protests on Oct 13 morning, demonstrating outside the Paul-Eluard high school in Saint-Denis.

Thunberg voiced concern over young people's exclusion from discussions affecting their future and the level of investment in schools.

"Young people are not involved in the discussions. Our future is being stolen from us, and schools are not receiving the investments they need," she said.

Her participation added an international activist voice to the mobilisation, which has seen demonstrations spread across multiple French cities.

With the All Saints' Day school holidays approaching, the latest protests marked another significant day for the student movement, even as authorities and student organisations continued to disagree over turnout and the extent of disruption at universities.