France's student revolt plans new day of action Tuesday and may join fuel price protests

The students' revolt began in late September over deteriorating school conditions and exploded into a day of action on October 6 that drew between 250,000 and 450,000 people into the streets. The crackdown has been severe: 6,877 arrested, 86 percent of them minors, with more than 200 students, 800 police officers, and 89 school staff injured. A 14 year old lost a hand to a police dispersal grenade in northern France, and a 15 year old suffered a broken jaw and smashed teeth from a tear gas canister. Reuters reported this week that 18 officers are under investigation and that authorities have suspended the use of stun grenades, after 141 schools were shut and 24 were burned.

President Macron held a crisis meeting on October 6, but the government's grip looks weaker, not stronger. The Financial Times reported Friday that the government's minority position in parliament represents 'a new extreme' of instability, and the 10 year bond yield briefly topped 5 percent, a 24 year high, as investors priced in the risk of political collapse.

Now the movement is preparing to escalate. Saturday's meeting in Créteil, described as the revolt's ground zero, produced agreement on a further day of mobilisation on Tuesday, October 13. Student leaders also signaled they may join the fuel price protests expected next weekend, a combination of school age protesters and the cost of living fury that once produced the yellow vest movement. If the two currents merge, France faces its most combustible protest season since 2018.