Greta Thunberg joins French school protests as over 210 students are reported injured

Thunberg joins pupils in Saint-Denis

On Tuesday, 13 October 2026, Greta Thunberg joined a demonstration outside the Lycée Paul Éluard in Saint-Denis, a working-class suburb north of Paris where the pupil protest movement first gained traction. The 23-year-old climate activist, who rose to fame as a teenage protester, said French pupils deserved wider support. The day marked another round of nationwide protests over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated school buildings. The movement began in mid-September in the Paris region, and Reuters describes it as now in its fourth week. Pupils gathered at school entrances in Paris and other cities in the morning with placards and megaphones. Thunberg told reporters outside the school:

They should know that all over the world we are following these developments. We are inspired by the young people who are demanding their basic rights.

Closures and the march schedule

Education Minister Edouard Geffray told France Inter that about 200 schools were closed, though he suggested some closures were precautionary because the schools sat on planned march routes. A midday update from the Education Ministry put the number of lycées affected on Tuesday at 214 and described a decrease in closures. About 20 lawyers also gathered at the Paul Éluard lycée to form a human chain protecting pupils. Police sources expected between 130,000 and 200,000 protesters on the streets on Tuesday. The main Paris march was scheduled to start at 14:00 local time at Place d'Italie and head toward Les Invalides, near Matignon, the prime minister's residence, and the education ministry.

Turnout counts and the police response

Counts differ by source. On Tuesday, 6 October, authorities counted 266,000 protesters nationwide and organisers counted 450,000, including between 56,000 and 100,000 in the capital. The Interior Ministry counted 71,500 across France on Thursday, 8 October. A second report gave more than 260,000 and 75,000 for the same two days.

Riot police have used tear gas and charged protesters in numerous incidents, injuring hundreds and arresting thousands, according to Reuters. The government suspended the use of stun grenades in the week of 5 October after one teenager lost a hand. Education Minister Edouard Geffray put the number of students injured since the start of the movement at more than 210, according to figures reported on Monday, 12 October. Thunberg called the police response "extremely violent", arguing that authorities were protecting the status quo and ignoring young people's demands.

Political reaction and wider support

Left-wing politicians have criticised the police, while far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has blamed violent protesters and pointed to damage to schools and injuries to staff and police officers. Teachers' unions, public-sector unions and parents' associations have backed the demands since the start of the movement. The student organisation União Estudantil says 90% of the roughly 70 French universities are blocked or closed in solidarity. The government faces competing pressures, between the need for more public investment in education and the demand to limit a growing budget deficit and debt. The protests have added to a sense of uncertainty six months ahead of a presidential election that could bring the first far-right government since World War Two, led by Le Pen's National Rally.

What happens next

Authorities had hoped the protests would fade once two-week school holidays began, due to start on the weekend of 17 October. Pupils, according to reports, appear determined to continue. The Paris march on Tuesday afternoon is the next test of turnout, with police expecting between 130,000 and 200,000 people on the streets. Thunberg's presence adds an international profile to a movement that has so far relied on domestic unions, parents and student groups.