Adults forming a protective cordon between police officers and students at a Nanterre high school were met with what staff describe as disproportionate and violent police intervention during two days of nationwide student mobilization, according to a statement released by school personnel.
Protective Cordon Met With Force
During student protest days on Wednesday and Thursday outside Lycée Joliot-Curie in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, numerous adults positioned themselves between law enforcement and young protesters. According to the school’s staff, police forces then advanced “without warning or any form of communication.”
In a statement dated October 2, personnel denounced what they characterized as “disproportionate” interventions and described the events as “police violence.”
Defense Launchers Aimed at Crowd
Staff members first reported that on the initial day of protests, defense ball launchers were “directly pointed at students and adults present.” They subsequently requested that no police officers be stationed near the school the following day.
However, according to their account, a line of police equipped with telescopic batons, shields, and defense ball launchers took up position on the avenue facing the teenagers. “While everyone was standing still,” law enforcement allegedly advanced “at a walking pace, shields forward,” and charged the adults.
Elected Official and Teacher Assaulted
An elected municipal official was reportedly “struck with a baton multiple times,” and an officer allegedly placed his forearm against a teacher’s throat “to make him back up.” Staff also reported insults and threats, including phrases such as “you’re the one I’m going to hit” and derogatory slurs directed at women.
According to the same statement, BRAV-M vehicles additionally deployed behind the students, causing “terrified crowd movements.” A minor student from the school was reportedly arrested in a “very violent” manner, pinned to the ground by two officers, one of whom sat on him.
Nationwide Crackdown Intensifies
Since the beginning of the blockades on Monday, more than 5,000 people have been arrested nationwide, according to the Interior Ministry. In Tours on Wednesday, a 16-year-old young man lost the use of his right eye after being struck by a defense ball launcher.
The incident has prompted an investigation, with the National Police Inspectorate General (IGPN) tasked with examining the injury. The teenager struck by the launcher suffered a double fracture of the jaw.
Violence Spreads Across France
The crackdown has extended beyond the Paris region. In Nantes, the entrance to Lycée Mandela was devastated by a spectacular fire. In Marseille, a passerby suffered burns to her face from an ignited spray. University students and campuses have also joined the high school protest movement.
Authorities have indicated that law enforcement will intervene at high school blockades in cases involving violence. In the Île-de-France region alone, 85 percent of those arrested during the school blockades have been minors.
