We Can Stop Calling Them 'Student Protests' in France. The Radical Left Has Hijacked Them.

Two weeks ago, students in the impoverished Seine-Saint-Denis area of northern Paris decided they were fed up with the conditions they had to endure to get an education in France. The buildings were dilapidated and infested with rats and roaches. The kids had to share textbooks because there weren't enough to go around.  There weren't enough chairs for kids to sit.

There also weren't enough teachers or support staff. The bathrooms were appalling. And school hours were excruciatingly long.

Some readers on this site and others think it matters that the kids complaining are Muslim or immigrants. I don't know what color they are, what their religion is, or whether they're left-wing, right-wing, or wingless. The French government is failing these kids in the most fundamental way: it isn't preparing them to be productive citizens of the republic.

Violence isn't the answer, of course. But many indications suggest these protests became violent only when outside agitators, including professional radical left activists, hijacked the energy of the student protest movement and bent it toward their own ends.

“Shared assessment by the intelligence services on the origin of the movement: an operation organised by LFI (France Unbowed) and its proxies on the far left,” the readout from a crisis meeting of the French cabinet stated.

In fact, LFI deputies and personalities have been showing up at these protests, egging the students on. There's no evidence they're actually urging violent acts, but what the hell else are they doing there? When you consider that violent demonstrations discredit the government of President Emanuel Macron six months from the presidential election, and the LFI candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is surging in the polls, the unrest plays directly into the hands of the radical left and no one else.

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin stated simply, “We’ve moved from student protests to a question of public order.”

Marine Le Pen, head of National Rally and a strong contender in the upcoming presidential election, agrees.

🚨🇫🇷 Marine Le Pen on the French riots:

"This is no longer about high school student protests.

It is about riots organized by professionals and overseen by deputies from La France Insoumise.

We MUST pass a new anti-rioters law so that participation in a riot is a clearly…

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 1, 2026

No one has been killed in the protests, but at least 2,000 people have been arrested and hundreds injured, including teachers, school principals, police and firefighters.

The violence has engulfed more than 560 of the country's 3,700 high schools ("lycées") with no sign of the protests abating.

CNN:

With no obvious off-ramp for the protests and tensions rising as the violence continues, the government is scrambling to contain the situation outside high schools.

After meeting with French Education Minister Édouard Geffray, parents and staff on Friday, student representatives called for non-violent protests to continue.

“We disassociate ourselves from the urban violence,” said Nathanaël Combary, of the student union Renouveau Lyceen. “These are people who are not there to champion our demands.”

Authorities in several parts of the country banned gatherings around the schools that were closed Friday, but the measure appears to have had little effect.

Speaking to radio station RTL, Darmanin proposed making parents pay for the damage incurred by students, an idea shot down as “absurd” by the far-left France Unbowed party, whose politicians have drawn criticism by center-right and far-right lawmakers for rallying with students.

The LFI denies any involvement in the protests beyond supporting "peaceful" demonstrations. As professional agitators, they know how to cover their tracks when inciting a riot. They know where the surveillance cameras are, and they know how to use student proxies to do their dirty work for them.

Of course, it wouldn't be a riot without Amnesty International weighing in on the side of the protesters while accusing the police of being bullies.

"Amnesty International accused the police of using disproportionate force against minors, including the use of batons, tear gas and non-lethal flash-ball guns," reports CNN.

“Authorities must prioritize dialogue and de-escalation, not resort to weapons,” Amnesty said on X.

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