Riot police clashed with youths in Toulouse on Friday (October 2), as student protests over education grievances escalated into violence across France. Reuters witnessed a fire burning in the street and officers making arrests as protesters ran through the city.

The protests against teacher shortages and dilapidated school buildings erupted in the Paris region last month but have spread nationwide and turned increasingly violent. Student protesters started fires in at least two high schools on Thursday, while teachers were inadvertently splashed with petrol at a third in the southern city of Marseille, officials said.

According to sources close to Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, intelligence agencies told a crisis meeting that the protest movement had been initiated by politicians from the hard left, including members of La France Insoumise (LFI), though LFI lawmaker Louis Boyard denied the claim.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: YOUTHS RUNNING AND RIOT POLICE LOOKING FOR OFFENDERS DURING STUDENT PROTEST IN TOULOUSE

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: TOULOUSE, FRANCE (OCTOBER 2, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. YOUTHS RUNNING AWAY

2. RIOT POLICE APPROACHING AS SMOKE IS BILLOWING IN BACKGROUND

3. FIRE BURNING IN THE MIDDLE OF A STREET

4. RIOT POLICE WALKING, TAKING ONE HANDCUFFED YOUTH WITH THEM

5. YOUTH RUNNING WITH TRASH CONTAINER, HELICOPTER HOVERING IN AIR

6. YOUTHS AND RIOT POLICE IN STREET

7. RIOT POLICE AND YOUTHS IN FRONT OF SCHOOL

8. PROTEST SIGNS HANGING UP SCHOOL WALL

9. RIOT POLICE OUTSIDE SCHOOL

10. TEACHER HANDING OUT WATER TO YOUTHS

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENGLISH TEACHER, ROSANA (NO SURNAME GIVEN), SAYING:

"A good society starts from, a good society starts from good schools and good education. So of course I... I don't work in a state school, but I support public education."

12. YOUTH WITH MASK

13. SIGN READING (French): 'GILDED YOUTH? NO, BROKE YOUTH'

14. YOUTHS HOLDING SIGN READING (French): 'THE SHORTAGE OF TEACHERS IS NOT A PROBLEM, BUT OUR OUTFITS ARE', 'YOUTH TELLS THE NATIONAL EDUCATION TO SCREW ITSELF', 'GILDED YOUTH IN REVOLT'

15. TEARGAS IN STREET