French Schools Targeted by Arsonists Amid Escalating Student Protests

Attackers doused a headteacher in gasoline and set fire to at least two schools on Thursday as student protests intensified across France. The demonstrations, which began last week, are fueled by concerns over staff shortages and the condition of school buildings.

In Marseille, hundreds of students surrounded a fire truck responding to a blaze at Saint-Exupery high school, forcing firefighters to flee before setting the vehicle ablaze. Separately, the headteacher of Victor Hugo high school in the same city was attacked and injured. A fire also occurred at Nelson Mandela high school in Nantes.

The escalating unrest has become a political challenge for the government, which recently announced unpopular spending cuts for its 2027 budget. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office convened a crisis meeting Thursday afternoon to address the protests, which have resulted in dozens of injuries and hundreds of arrests, predominantly of teenagers.

Students have voiced grievances, with some holding signs questioning the use of tear gas by police. In the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, students confronted riot police, with one holding a placard reading, "Can we explain ourselves without being tear-gassed?"

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated that individuals were deliberately moving between locations to incite violence. Education Minister Edouard Geffray suggested that schools could transition to remote learning if their premises were blocked by protesters, emphasizing that "violence will not keep our students from their fundamental right to an education."

Officials confirmed that the fire at the Nantes school was contained and that no injuries were reported there. Students scheduled to attend the school were turned away, and those inside were evacuated.