France should prioritise school funding and staffing over restrictions on demonstrations

Student demonstrations expanded into nationwide mobilisation involving trade unions and Yellow Vests over living costs and public services. Authorities counted 550,000 participants on 17 October, against organisers' 800,000 estimate. Reuters' evening update reported approximately 1,200 arrests following widespread rioting.

France's school protests expanded into large demonstrations involving pupils, teachers and parents. Police reported 488 arrests on 6 October; thousands had been arrested over the movement as a whole, many of them minors. Rights groups alleged disproportionate police force, while the government cited violence around some demonstrations. Running cumulative arrest totals vary by report and publication time.