The Global Student Forum stands in solidarity with students across France exercising their right to peaceful protest and demanding better conditions in education. Their concerns about teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating school buildings deserve serious attention and meaningful action from public authorities.
We are deeply concerned by reports of police force against student protesters, serious injuries and thousands of arrests, predominantly involving minors. We are particularly alarmed by reports that a 15-year-old lost a hand during clashes on 5 October, in an incident reportedly involving a police grenade. The precise circumstances must be established through a prompt, independent investigation. Our solidarity is with injured students and their families.
Students’ right to peaceful protest must be respected, facilitated and protected
Public authorities must tolerate the disruption that peaceful protest can entail. Isolated acts of violence by some individuals do not remove the rights of peaceful participants or justify treating an entire student movement as a threat. Any restrictions must be lawful, necessary and proportionate.
Minors are entitled to both protection and participation. Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and a say in decisions affecting them. Their best interests must be a primary consideration in decisions taken by public authorities, including the policing of demonstrations. Protecting children must include respecting their ability to speak and organise for their own future.
We warn that an escalating police response risks causing further injuries, deepening mistrust and discouraging young people from democratic participation. Tear gas, impact projectiles and explosive crowd-control devices can expose students to grave harm, as the reports emerging from these protests illustrate. Preventing irreversible injury must guide operational decisions, particularly where children are present.
Authorities have a responsibility to protect everyone from violence, including students, education workers and police officers. We condemn attacks on people and actions that endanger school communities. Addressing such conduct requires individual accountability and respect for due process. Police force must never be used to punish protesters, intimidate students or silence their demands.
The Global Student Forum calls on the French authorities to:
- Prioritise de-escalation and student safety. Use dialogue and nonviolent measures wherever possible, and ensure that any force is strictly necessary, proportionate and subject to accountability.
- Apply specific safeguards for minors. Ensure policing plans account for children’s vulnerability, provide safe routes away from confrontations and guarantee prompt access to medical assistance.
- Investigate alleged abuses independently. Preserve evidence, publish findings and provide effective remedies and support to those harmed.
- Protect students’ rights during arrest and detention. Release anyone detained solely for peaceful participation. Ensure access to legal assistance, family contact and appropriate care. Arrest and detention of children must be measures of last resort and last for the shortest appropriate time.
- Engage directly with students and their representative organisations. Establish meaningful dialogue and a transparent plan to address concerns about educational conditions, resources and inequality.
Students must be able to demand a better education without fear of serious injury or arbitrary detention. We urge the French authorities to uphold their rights, protect their safety and respond to their concerns with the urgency they deserve.
