Organisers say 450,000 marched for France's schools; the interior ministry says 256,000

The counts. There are two counts, and they differ by 194,000 people. iDNES.cz is the only report we hold that gives both and says whose each one is.

Libération gives only the organisers' figure. Le Figaro writes "plus de 250.000" and does not say whose count it is. Mediapart, the Guardian and the Independent say "hundreds of thousands".

The arrests. Digi24's headline says 6,547 people have been held "so far". That is a total for the whole movement. iDNES.cz says about 500 were held on Tuesday. The two numbers count different things, so they do not contradict each other.

The cause. The Guardian's editorial blames "years of budget cuts" for crumbling buildings, overcrowded classes and staff shortages. Mediapart leads with "le manque de moyens". Le Figaro and the Independent lead with the clashes.

The police. Mediapart says a 15-year-old in Lens, Evan S., lost his left hand on 5 October after police fired a dispersal grenade. It says the police inspectorate has been called in. Libération reports that the government denies any police violence. In parliament, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called the left's charges "mensonges".

Not settled. Nobody has published an independent crowd count. Only Mediapart reports the Lens injury, and no inquiry has reported yet. We hold no report on what the government will spend.

France's secondary-school pupils, university students and teachers are protesting about how much the state spends on schools.

How it got here. France's public finances have been under strain for years. Since 2024 the European Union has had France in its excessive-deficit procedure, which obliges a government to bring its borrowing down. Since 2024 the National Assembly has had no majority, and budgets have brought down governments. François Bayrou's government lost a confidence vote in September 2025, and Sébastien Lecornu became prime minister that month. Every budget forces public services to compete for money. The Guardian, in an editorial, links the protests to "years of budget cuts". Other outlets lead with the clashes. According to Mediapart, this movement began on 15 September. Pupils have blockaded schools since then. Tuesday was its third national day, its "acte III" in Libération's words.

The actors. - Pupils' and students' groups called Tuesday's marches together with the teachers' unions. Their complaints include buildings, class sizes, heat in classrooms and the algorithm-driven system that hands out university places. - President Emmanuel Macron called a crisis meeting on Tuesday, according to Digi24 and Vedomosti. - Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who is in charge of the police, and Education Minister Edouard Geffray were due to attend it. - The IGPN is the police's own inspectorate. It investigates complaints against officers. - The left in parliament accuses the government of directing a police crackdown. The government denies it.

What is at stake. Pupils, parents and staff want money for schools. A government trying to cut borrowing has little to give. Libération writes that the government must find answers to problems "signalés depuis des années". Le Figaro reports that Lecornu is suspending some lessons from Wednesday to make room for a "temps de démocratie interne" in schools.

Where it stands. The marches are growing and the government is under pressure in parliament. No decision on spending has been announced.