11,650 students detained as France mobilizes 70,000 officers

French police have detained 11,650 people since student protests began in September, according to figures released this week. The majority of those in custody are minors, accounting for 85 percent of the total. A further 2,700 individuals were taken into custody following demonstrations on October 17. Another 1,000 arrests were recorded yesterday, bringing the cumulative total close to 12,000.

President Emmanuel Macron has ordered the deployment of 70,000 police officers to maintain public order. He pledged to ban future protests if they disrupt traffic or commerce. The president accused the far left of attempting to bring down the republic. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu called on left-wing parties to choose a side, framing the conflict as a choice between the Republic and violent rioters.

The protests stem from deteriorating conditions in the French education system. In the suburb of Sevran, students at Blaise-Cendrars secondary school have complained since 2024 about water leaks, mold, and unusable toilets. At Marcelin-Berthelot secondary school in Pantin, windows no longer open, leaving classrooms stifling during heatwaves that reach 40 degrees Celsius. In Bagnolet, staff at Politzer secondary school learned in late September that the water supply was unsafe to drink, despite a June test indicating it was safe.

The strain on infrastructure extends to Mayotte. The Cite du Nord secondary school in Acoua was blockaded as early as August 31. The facility, built for 900 pupils, currently houses 2,300 students in cramped classrooms with poor ventilation and frequent water supply failures.

The education ministry’s own data shows that 20.2 million teaching hours were not delivered in state secondary schools during the 2024-25 academic year, excluding Mayotte. This represents nearly one in every ten scheduled hours. Of these lost hours, 15 million were missed because absent teachers were not replaced. Economist Lucas Chancel noted that government spending per student has declined by 20 percent since Emmanuel Macron took office in 2017.

Violence has characterized both the protests and the police response. Fourteen-year-old Eden suffered a fractured jaw and lost teeth after a tear gas grenade hit her. Sixteen-year-old Mael lost sight in one eye from a suspected rubber bullet strike. Fifteen-year-old Evan lost a hand to a police stun grenade. These injuries have fueled anger over what organizers describe as heavy-handed tactics.

Macron met with 20 students on Friday. The meeting produced a promise to reform the university entrance platform. However, the government did not address the students’ primary demands regarding infrastructure and funding. The president expressed understanding for the students but did not offer the same public support he showed police officers.

Economic inequality underpins the unrest. Oxfam reports that 53 French billionaires own as much wealth as nearly half the population. The country currently has 9.8 million people living below the official poverty line, the highest rate since the 1990s. Far-right politicians have used the chaos to highlight the origins of those committing acts of violence, while calling for broader powers to strip citizenship from some residents.

The government faces pressure to address these structural issues. Instead, officials have focused on a security narrative. The far right has denounced hordes of thugs of foreign origin, while the center-right positions itself as the defender of public order. The next major scheduled event is a planned national demonstration, where organizers expect to draw thousands of participants to Paris.