Key facts
- A local official in Chelles, near Paris, was hit in the chest with a bottle filled with gasoline on November 10.
- A high school principal in Begles near Bordeaux was hit in the head by a projectile on November 9, the report said.
- Government spokesman Mathieu Lefevre said nearly 300 national education staff had been injured since the protests began.
- Education Minister Edouard Geffray said 99% of high school students were back in class as of November 10.
- The Education Ministry said 49 of France's 3,700 high schools were blockaded on the morning of November 10.
- Student unions said on November 9 they were unsatisfied after talks with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
French authorities condemned acts of violence against teaching staff and officials on November 10, as high school and university student unions pledged to keep pressing for better conditions in schools and universities.
In Chelles, near Paris, a local official was hit in the chest with a bottle filled with gasoline in front of a high school on Tuesday, November 10. In Begles, near Bordeaux in southwestern France, a high school principal was hit in the head by a projectile on Monday, November 9, and a high school in Aix-en-Provence in the south was set on fire overnight into Tuesday, November 10.
"This violence is absolutely unacceptable," government spokesman Mathieu Lefevre said, adding that nearly 300 national education staff had been injured since the start of the student protests nearly two months ago.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez condemned the Chelles attack in a post on X: "This is no longer a high school student movement. These are acts of urban violence that call for the strongest and most determined response."
Education Minister Edouard Geffray said that as of Tuesday, November 10, 99% of high school students were back in class, but added: "In a few schools, there are dangerous people, violent people, who attack staff and elected officials." The Education Ministry said 49 of the country's 3,700 high schools were blockaded on Tuesday morning.
France has been buffeted for months by street protests. They began in September with students demanding the renovation of school buildings, more teachers and university reforms, then turned into broader cost-of-living protests, drawing in trade unions and political activists and sometimes turning violent.
The high school and university student unions said on Monday, November 9 they were not satisfied after talks with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and called for the demonstrations to continue. In Paris, a march was due to leave from the Pantheon at 2 p.m. (1300 GMT) toward the Place d'Italie.