Lower official turnout brings no end to the pressure as education demands and further protest calls confront the government
By TENGKU NOOR SHAMSIAH TENGKU ABDULLAH
Oct 26 – Morning in France
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu faces talks with school and university student organisations on Monday after another nationwide protest day brought mass arrests, renewed clashes and continuing demands for changes to education and public services.
The Interior Ministry’s provisional tally, issued on Sunday, recorded 1,314 arrests during the 24 October mobilisation. A report published by the national gendarmerie also confirmed the figure. Arrests do not establish that those detained committed an offence or were convicted.
Official estimates put participation at 410,000 across France, compared with 550,000 on 17 October. The ministry counted 289 public actions, against 441 a week earlier, according to AFP reporting. The CGT gave a substantially higher turnout estimate of around 800,000 for Saturday.
Although the widespread destruction of the previous weekend was not repeated on the same scale, violence continued. Sunday’s provisional ministry report recorded 24 looted businesses and 75 fire-related interventions. Those figures show a reduction in reported damage, rather than an end to unrest.
Injury Figures Revised On Monday
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez gave a higher injury count on Monday morning than the ministry’s initial Sunday tally. Speaking on BFMTV and RMC, he said 267 police officers and gendarmes and approximately 150 demonstrators had been injured on Saturday, Le Parisien reported.
Nuñez described three demonstrator injuries as serious, in Toulouse, Reims and Clermont-Ferrand, and referred to investigations by the police inspectorate, IGPN. Sunday’s provisional statement had recorded 53 injured officers.
The revision also underlines the limits of treating a calmer overall security outcome as a complete account of the day. The circumstances of individual injuries remain matters for investigation.
Paris March Rerouted
The Paris demonstration followed a dispute over its route. The prefecture prohibited the initially accepted Bastille-to-Nation itinerary and proposed the outer boulevards between Porte d’Italie and Porte de Vincennes. On Saturday morning, the administrative court rejected the organisers’ emergency challenge, leaving the alternative as the authorised route.
The march proceeded, but clashes broke out near its eastern endpoint. The Associated Press described masked demonstrators throwing objects and fireworks, with police responding with tear gas, sound grenades and water cannon.
A Sunday update quoting the Paris police prefecture’s spokesperson recorded 142 arrests and 126 placements in police custody, according to Le Parisien.
In Lyon, Le Progrès reported approximately 10,000 participants and 36 arrests, citing the prefecture. Its updated Sunday account put injuries at 23, revising an earlier tally of 22. These are local reported totals, separate from the national figures subsequently given by Nuñez.
Education Demands Return To The Foreground
Lecornu is scheduled to receive school and university student organisations successively at Matignon on Monday. School student representatives said their appointment was at 2.30pm French time, or 9.30pm in Malaysia. The meetings follow Macron’s reception of school student representatives on Friday.
Parcoursup, France’s higher education admissions platform, is among the central points of contention. Student organisations want changes to admissions, more university capacity and additional support for students. Their joint ten-point programme has been costed by the organisations at €10 billion, Le Parisien reported with AFP; that is a demand, not an approved government allocation.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray and Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste are expected to explain the government’s response at a press conference later on Monday. Reported areas under consideration include teacher replacements, school buildings, class sizes, missed teaching hours and Parcoursup.
The measures may lead to amendments to the 2027 budget, according to reporting citing executive sources. Their funding, timing and precise scope remain to be announced. A government consultation open from 5 to 23 October displayed more than 100,000 contributions when it closed, according to the same report.
The distinction between an announcement and delivery will matter to families facing absent teachers or inadequate facilities. The talks bring those practical concerns back into focus after days dominated by security measures and disputes over protest restrictions.
Further Mobilisations Called
The yellow vest coordination has called for a pot-banging gathering outside the National Assembly on Friday, 30 October, from 6pm to 9pm. Its published statement also calls for similar protests elsewhere, including outside parliamentarians’ local offices.
For Saturday, 31 October, the coordination has announced an “Act III”, including gatherings and sit-ins outside town halls at 2pm. These are organisers’ calls; they do not establish official authorisation or likely attendance.
A separate joint union appeal by the CFDT, CGT, FO, UNSA and FSU calls for strikes and demonstrations on Thursday, 5 November, over wages, public services, employment and industry.
Schools in mainland France’s zones A, B and C are scheduled to resume on 2 November after the Toussaint holiday. The return will provide a further indication of whether education protests regain momentum.
The movement began with school protests in mid-September before widening into broader demonstrations over living costs and public services. Monday’s talks will not resolve every grievance behind that expansion, but they will offer a concrete test of whether the government can turn its promise of a response into measures students regard as credible.
- TNS NEWS