Education Minister Édouard Geffray said 3,000 substitute teachers would be sent to more than 500 high schools facing the most serious staffing problems. The announcement came as 71,500 people demonstrated nationwide, the Interior Ministry said.
Geffray said 114 high schools were in the most critical, “red” category and 400 more were rated “orange.” The unassigned teachers are expected to join schools over the coming hours and days. Several hundred thousand hours of overtime will also be made available so volunteer teachers can cover short absences.
The minister promoted a consultation platform launched Monday evening where high school students can submit concerns and proposals for consideration in the budget. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on X that the government would propose amendments to the 2027 budget bill to turn some student proposals into measures, including on substitute staffing.
The Interior Ministry said 71,500 people demonstrated across France on Thursday, including 24,500 in Paris. Authorities made 504 arrests and reported 48 police officers and gendarmes injured. Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said the priorities were restoring order, calm and dialogue, and getting students back to class.
Police used tear gas to clear a crowd at Place de la Bastille in Paris in the early evening. Protesters chanted about teacher shortages and school conditions, including slogans translated as “More master’s degrees, fewer cops” and “35 degrees in classrooms, but the phone is the problem.” Young people on the July Column held a banner reading “Gen Z in anger.”
Clashes broke out toward the end of the rally. Stones and fireworks were thrown at police, who responded with water cannon. The Paris police prefecture said a group of about 20 black-bloc participants threw street furniture at officers. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the radical-left leader, wrote on X: “The Bastille has been retaken.”
Demonstrations were generally smaller than Tuesday’s, when estimates put nationwide turnout between 266,000 and 450,000. Prefectures counted 3,200 people in Lille, 3,400 in Rennes and 2,800 in Bordeaux. Marseille recorded about 3,900 participants, with several hundred more at unauthorized gatherings. Young people partially ransacked a high school near Bordeaux.
The protests began on September 17. High school students are demanding better learning conditions, renovated school buildings and an end to selection through Parcoursup, France’s university admissions platform.