Clashes broke out in the French capital today between police and demonstrators calling for the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron, the prime minister, and the education minister, with police using tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds.

Al Mayadeen’s envoy to Paris reported injuries and arrests as confrontations carried on between security forces and protesters. He said more demonstrators kept arriving at the square while police continued to fire tear gas canisters without pause.

The French Interior Ministry said 161,500 people joined rallies across the country in support of the student protests. That is more than double the 71,500 it recorded at the previous nationwide demonstrations last Thursday. Unions involved in organizing today’s marches gave a far higher countrywide figure of 480,000.

In Paris, the ministry counted 41,500 participants in one of two marches held in the capital. AFP journalists on the scene reported that several cars were set ablaze and that police fired tear gas at masked youths who threw objects and tried to put up barricades. Tear gas was also used during a demonstration in Lyon.

Thousands more took to the streets in Nantes, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Marseille and Lens, according to police figures.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg joined a march in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left France Unbowed party and a presidential hopeful, was seen among the crowds in the capital. His party has thrown its weight behind the students.

The movement began last month, when lycée pupils aged 15 to 18 blocked school entrances to press for better conditions in their classrooms. Anger over police conduct has since drawn many more people onto the streets.

Reported injuries from the protests include a teenager who lost a hand after picking up a police stun grenade, another who lost an eye, and a third who lost teeth when a tear gas canister was fired at his face, per AFP.

Police have opened internal investigations into 34 allegations of violence against demonstrators, while the education ministry said 147 teaching staff have been injured.

The education ministry said 214 schools, mostly high schools, were shut today. The student union l’Union Etudiante said 90 percent of universities nationwide closed in solidarity.

Students have brushed aside the government’s offer, made after last week’s demonstrations, to deploy 3,000 substitute teachers to the 114 hardest-hit schools. They are demanding a fix for teacher absences, run-down school buildings and overloaded timetables.

The new demonstrations come as students try to widen the movement and the government maintains that it is losing steam. Some participants see today’s turnout as a possible turning point.

The pressure on Macron is mounting at a delicate moment. His centrist government is struggling to push a cost-cutting budget through parliament while rising debt has unsettled bond markets, and France votes for his successor in six months as he completes his final term. Unions and student groups expect the protest currents to merge on Saturday, when nationwide demonstrations over the rising cost of living are scheduled.

Macron urged protesters to show restraint on Monday, saying the issues at stake call for time, consultation, discussion and respect.

https://mronline.org/2026/10/15/turnout-doubles-as-french-protesters-demand-macrons-government-resign/

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