French school blockades: Greek paper says police and protesters were both violent, Le Figaro's interviewee blames only the youths

Who acted. The three written reports we hold disagree on who did the violence.

Where the claims rest. Efimerida ton Syntakton bases its account on videos circulating on social media. Le Figaro's only voice is Thibault de Montbrial, a lawyer who heads a security think tank. He says many teachers were knocked down, "sometimes lynched", "according to the information I have". Brussels Signal names no source for its figures.

Who is not heard. No report we hold quotes a pupil, a police officer or a union.

What is not settled. - Who injured the pupil who lost an eye. Only one report carries the injury. - How many people were arrested. Only Brussels Signal gives a count, and it is not an exact number. - The 40 injured head teachers. Only Le Figaro's interviewee cites the ministry figure. We hold no ministry statement. - What the pupils are demanding. None of the reports says.

What this is about. Secondary-school pupils in France are blocking their schools, and in places the protests have turned violent.

How it got here. A "blocage" is an old French way of protesting. Pupils pile bins and barriers at the gate of a lycée, a French upper-secondary school, so classes cannot start. Pupils have done this for decades, against education reforms and in support of wider movements. It rarely leads to serious violence. The comparison French readers reach for is June 2023. A police officer shot dead Nahel Merzouk, 17, at a traffic stop in Nanterre, and riots spread across French towns for about a week. Le Figaro's interviewee makes that comparison himself. In 2023, he says, the violence was against property; this time it is against people. Brussels Signal says the current blockades are now in their second week. Efimerida ton Syntakton describes them as protests about education. None of the reports we hold says what started them or what the pupils want.

The actors. The pupils, most of them minors. Head teachers and school staff, who run the blocked schools. The police, who answer to the interior ministry. The education ministry, which runs state schools. And the parties: Jordan Bardella leads the Rassemblement National, the largest party on the national right. Libération's weekly cartoon puts him beside the lycées.

What is at stake. Law and order is a central issue before the presidential election due in spring 2027. Emmanuel Macron cannot run again. If the blockades are seen as youth violence, that helps the parties promising a firmer hand. If they are seen as heavy-handed policing, the pressure falls on the government.

Where it stands. As of 3 October the blockades were continuing. We hold no figure for how many schools are blocked.