Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-02 · by John Leicester And Samuel Petrequin The Associated Press
When the summer vacation ended and the new term started just a month ago, few could have imagined that the academic year would so quickly descend into nationwide student protests — and turmoil.
uncertain
year → end → protests
In a country beset by crises — both foreign and domestic — the eruption and rapid spread of protests by unhappy teenage high schoolers caught France off guard.
asserted
eruption → beset → guard
Friday brought more of the scenes that have dominated streets this week: vandalism, garbage fires, teens confronting and taunting police.
asserted
teens → bring → police
Officers charging, firing tear gas and making more arrests.
asserted
Officers → charge → arrests
By early afternoon, the education ministry reported protests impacting 560 schools.
asserted
ministry → report → schools
Taking grievances to France’s streets has long been a rite of passage in the country that spawned the French Revolution of 1789.
asserted
that → take → 1789
The students now barricading high-school gates and demonstrating with placards have shown the know-how of veterans — down to wearing masks and goggles against police tear gas.
asserted
students → barricade → gas
The timing of these protests — with France engaged in a presidential election race — sets them apart.
asserted
France → engage → them
Candidates campaigning to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in May have seized on the demonstrations as a hot political issue.
uncertain
Candidates → campaign → issue
And although constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term, Macron also joined the fray, speaking out against protest violence and political manipulation of the young demonstrators.
asserted
Macron → bar → demonstrators
Here is what you need to know:
asserted
you → need → what
The demonstrations started in the Paris region
Protests first erupted last week in the Paris region and spread nationwide like wildfire, even to smaller towns.
asserted
Protests → start → towns
High schoolers are expressing broad grievances — mainly, schools are under-resourced, with dilapidated facilities and insufficient staff.
asserted
schools → express → facilities
Still, spending on education is one of the costliest items in the state budget that Macron’s government proposed this week, with 65.5 billion euros ($74 billion) set aside for schools in the next year.
asserted
government → propose → year
That’s more than the proposed 63.4 billion euros for defense.
asserted
That → ’ → defense
Students also complain that school days, which often start at 8 a.m., are too exhausting and the university entrance system too complex.
asserted
system → complain → a.m.
Some university students also joined the protests this week.
asserted
students → join → protests
Government says it’s becoming rioting, not legitimate protests
Macron’s government has repeatedly said that it respects the right to peaceful protest.
asserted
it → say → protest
But it also issued written orders for police to break up protests that block access to schools and to rapidly put a stop to violence and vandalism.
asserted
that → issue → violence
Riot police have liberally used tear gas, wielded their batons and made arrests to disperse crowds.
asserted
police → use → crowds
Police and school staff have been targeted with explosive fireworks and other injury-causing projectiles.
asserted
Police → target → fireworks
The interior ministry says acid has been hurled in some cases, and that those intent on destruction and looting have grafted themselves onto the high schoolers’ movement and behaved like “criminals and vandals,” instead of “young people legitimately voicing their demands.”
asserted
those → say → demands
Police made more than 1,900 arrests on Thursday, when 305 officers were hurt, the ministry said.
asserted
ministry → make → Thursday
The protests and confrontations continued Friday, and unrest also spread to neighboring Belgium where about a dozen schools closed in Liege, a day after violence in the city and six arrests there.
asserted
schools → continue → city
The protests come against a backdrop of broader school concerns
There have been broader concerns in France that the schooling system is losing ground to those in other countries and failing in its mission to enable children from disadvantaged backgrounds to move up the social ladder.
asserted
children → come → ladder
Performance gaps are growing between highly advantaged and highly disadvantaged students, and overall scores in reading comprehension and mathematics have plunged, according to the latest PISA report, which evaluates students worldwide.
The government banned smartphones from high schools when the school year started in September, with officials arguing that banishing screens will improve learning.
uncertain
banishing → grow → learning
France this year also became the first country in the European Union to ban social media platforms for children under 15, but the country’s top court struck down that measure.
asserted
court → become → measure
The protests are impacting the presidential election campaign
The unrest is sharpening political battle lines between presidential candidates.
asserted
unrest → impact → candidates
Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has positioned himself firmly on the side of the students and has decried police actions as “savagery” and repressive.
asserted
Mélenchon → position → savagery
Police crowd-control projectiles are suspected in some of the injuries that protesters have suffered.
asserted
protesters → suspect → that
Mélenchon’s critics are accusing his France Unbowed party of stoking violence and seeking to score political points from the protests.
asserted
critics → accuse → protests
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has called for broader police powers against rioters.
asserted
Pen → call → rioters
Conservative former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, one of Le Pen’s main challengers for the presidency, has condemned those who “break things, burn things, or assault people.”
asserted
who → condemn → people
Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
asserted
Cook → contribute → report
The Aporia
