PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 17: A police officer wearing riot gear stands in front of a burning barricade during a demonstration near Place de la République, as the the Gilets Jaunes join students for a weekend of action on October 17, 2026 in Paris, France. The involvement of the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests) with the ongoing French school blockades expands the scope of these demonstrations by linking localised student grievances to broader economic policies. Student unions originally initiated the movement to protest underfunding, deteriorating infrastructure, and acute teacher shortages across French high schools and universities. By joining the protests, the Gilets Jaunes introduce their established platform against austerity cuts, rising living costs, and surging fuel prices into the youth-led action. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
A police officer wearing riot gear stands in front of a burning barricade during a demonstration near Place de la Republique, in Paris, on October 17, 2026 [Carl Court/Getty Images]
Published On 28 Oct 2026

United Nations experts have expressed alarm at the “excessive use of force” by French authorities in dispersing the recent nationwide student protests.

“The scale of the arrests and detention, affecting several thousand people, mainly minors, appears disproportionate and deters demonstrators from exercising their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly,” the four experts, mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, said in a statement on Wednesday.

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They included Gina Romero, special rapporteur on the freedom of peaceful assembly, and Farida Shaheed, the UN expert on cultural rights.

“Although authorities launched several initiatives to facilitate dialogue and respond to students’ demands in October, the priority given to a primarily security-focused response to the protests has led to the root causes of the mobilisation being sidelined,” the statement said.

France has seen ongoing student protests since mid-September, sparked initially over conditions in high schools, where young people complained about the deteriorating buildings, overcrowded classrooms and teacher absences. Students have also joined nationwide demonstrations to express anger over the rising cost of living, which led to riots and looting on the sidelines.

The French government deployed 70,000 security forces and arrested 1,000 people during demonstrations on Saturday, which drew 410,000 protesters nationwide, France’s Interior Ministry said. A week earlier, public buildings were vandalised, hundreds of businesses were looted and 2,700 people were arrested, with Interior Minister Laurent Nunez vowing to be “extremely vigilant, extremely firm” to quell future unrest.

“What we are seeing right now is a general outburst of resentment against [French President Emmanuel] Macron and his policies that have destroyed our rights, destroyed our living conditions,” Alice Cohen-Morzadec, a spokesperson for the Union Etudiante, told Al Jazeera.

Analysts say the French government has struggled to address students’ demands due to a severe fiscal crisis and planned budget cuts, which have led to a drop in the country’s education budget.

Riot mobile gendarmes face protesters near Porte de Vincennes during a demonstration in favor of purchasing power, the protection of public services, and fiscal and social justice, in Paris on October 24, 2026 as part of a nationwide call for mobilisation bringing together former members of the Yellow Vest movement, labor unions, high school and university students.
Riot mobile gendarmes face protesters near Porte de Vincennes during a demonstration in Paris on October 24, 2026, as part of a nationwide call for mobilisation bringing together former members of the Yellow Vest movement, labour unions, high school and university students [AFP]

Police response to protests

French authorities have been criticised for their approach to security during some of the protests, and in one case a teenager in the northern city of Lille lost a hand when a grenade exploded as school protesters clashed with police.

“The serious and, in some cases, irreversible injuries sustained by underage demonstrators during law enforcement operations are unacceptable and unjustifiable,” the UN rapporteurs said.

The statement added: “The experts recalled past discussions urging French authorities to undertake a comprehensive review of their policing strategies and practices in order to enable demonstrators to express their concerns and to facilitate a peaceful resolution of social conflicts.”

“The experts are in contact with French authorities on the issue,” the statement concluded.