Macron calls crisis meeting as 256,000 march in French school protests

Crisis meeting at the Élysée Palace

French President Emmanuel Macron convened an emergency crisis meeting at the Élysée Palace on Tuesday evening to address widening student unrest across the country. According to reports from broadcaster BFMTV alongside daily newspapers Le Monde and Le Parisien, the consultations included Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, and Education Minister Édouard Geffray. Macron had not previously intervened in the executive response to the student demonstrations, which began one week earlier over inadequate school equipment and poor classroom conditions. Government officials expressed concern that the school unrest could spread into broader societal sectors, fueled by elevated fuel prices and rising living costs, drawing comparisons to the 2019 Yellow Vests protests. The high-level security and policy review takes place as Macron prepares to host German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for an official state visit in France on Wednesday, 7 October 2026.

Nationwide action day and disputed turnout

Tens of thousands of students, educators, and families took part in a coordinated national day of action across France on Tuesday, 6 October 2026. Education trade unions officially joined the student mobilization for the first time, with teachers and parents marching alongside teenagers to advocate for greater institutional investment and to shield younger demonstrators. Official figures released by the Interior Ministry put nationwide attendance at 256,000 demonstrators, including 56,000 marchers in Paris. Education unions provided substantially higher estimates, claiming that 450,000 people took part across the country. Disruption to academic institutions was severe throughout the day, with trade unions reporting that 1,800 high schools were blockaded or closed as a precaution, alongside blockades at 90% of higher education institutions. The Ministry of National Education confirmed that teaching was fully or partially disrupted at 891 high schools nationwide.

Street clashes and investigations into police conduct

Protest marches formed in several metropolitan centers, including Paris, Lyon, Lille, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Rennes, and Strasbourg. Law enforcement authorities mobilized heavy security contingents in riot gear, facing criticism from politicians and participants over crowd management tactics and the deployment of tear gas against minors. In Marseille, demonstrators displayed cardboard signs reading "Setzt Tränengas gegen Vergewaltiger ein, nicht gegen Minderjährige" ("Use tear gas against rapists, not against minors") to condemn the police tactics during the rally. The General Inspectorate of the National Police initiated formal inquiries into several operations in which officers injured protesters during the demonstrations. Clashes erupted in multiple cities as demonstrators pelted police lines with projectiles and fireworks, injuring 43 officers on Tuesday alone and raising the number of injured personnel to several dozen since the unrest began.

Mass detentions and millions in property damage

Law enforcement agencies carried out 488 arrests across French cities during Tuesday's demonstrations. Those detentions followed statistics released on Monday evening by the Ministry of Justice, which recorded 5,060 cumulative arrests since the beginning of the protest wave a week prior. The ministry noted that minors accounted for 87% of all individuals detained during the week of unrest. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin calculated the financial toll of property destruction at several million euros, citing widespread damage inflicted on school buildings and public spaces. The evening meeting at the Élysée Palace focused on formulating a coordinated state response to maintain public order while addressing student grievances before further disruptions take hold.