French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced on Monday that police have arrested 164 people following blockades at nearly 180 high schools across the country.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday afternoon, Nuñez explained that 78 arrests were made on Friday before the overall total reached 164 by Monday as officers responded to mounting disruption near educational institutions.
According to the interior minister, police intervened at 27 complete high school blockades, while authorities recorded another 50 attempted blockades. Disruption was concentrated primarily in the educational academies of Créteil, Versailles, Grenoble, and Nice.
Nuñez reported that 12 members of the internal security forces sustained injuries during the demonstrations. About a dozen high school students were also injured in the incidents.
Government Condemnation and Political Opposition
The interior minister strongly criticized the involvement of elected representatives from La France Insoumise, describing their participation in the movements as irresponsible. Nuñez asserted that the blockade actions were not protest-driven or bound to specific demands, but instead closely resembled urban violence.
La France Insoumise is France's primary left-wing opposition party, holding parliamentary seats in the National Assembly. In French politics, opposition lawmakers often support student movements, though government ministers frequently criticize parliamentary backing when demonstrations cause public disruption.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu also launched a sharp attack against opposition lawmakers earlier in the day. Lecornu wrote that incidents involving mortar fire, fires, and violence near high schools provided no justification for endangering students, school staff, or police officers, calling LFI appeals to expand the movement an irresponsible escalation.
In the French government, the Prime Minister serves as the head of government responsible for policy implementation, while the Interior Minister directs national police forces and internal security operations.
The Prime Minister added that exploiting student anger for partisan political purposes constituted a fault, though he emphasized that the underlying difficulties faced by high schools must still be heard and addressed by the government.
Support From Left-Wing Officials
Despite government criticism, the student movement received explicit backing from several prominent opposition figures. Bally Bagayoko, the La France Insoumise mayor of Saint-Denis, visited a high school in his municipality and stated that young people deserved something other than violent responses from authorities.
Saint-Denis is a large commune situated directly north of Paris in the Seine-Saint-Denis department. The area is known for its working-class population and active local political scene, frequently serving as a focal point for social and educational debates in the capital region.
LFI deputy Louis Boyard posted a message on X encouraging students not to give up, stating that their fight brought them honor. Meanwhile, party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused Lecornu's government of ordering the repression of student movements with an obvious racist tone.
In France, public secondary education is organized into administrative jurisdictions known as academies. The academies of Créteil and Versailles cover the suburbs surrounding Paris, while Grenoble encompasses the southeastern alpine region and Nice manages the Mediterranean coast.
Security Deployment Ahead of National Strike
Nuñez warned that robust security measures would remain in place on Tuesday, which coincides with a broader day of mobilization across the public sector. Police forces will be pre-positioned and prepared to intervene immediately if further disruption occurs near high schools.
