Security developments, student protests in France, and military events in Ukraine and Lithuania

The French authorities arrested more than 1,700 people, on Friday, as part of the student protest movement that included the closure of secondary schools and acts of violence in recent days, while organizers called for continued mobilization on Tuesday, in the absence of “concrete measures.”

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Friday evening that 1,747 people had been arrested on the same day, bringing the number to more than 5,000 since Monday, due to the closure of secondary schools.

He pointed out that “there were 735 institutions affected by the mobilization... and we witnessed acts of violence near 158 institutions; Projectiles were thrown, and law enforcement forces, teachers, journalists, and passers-by were exposed...”

The protests began on September 17 in the Paris region, before quickly spreading throughout the country. Students in the final years of secondary school closed the entrances to their schools and clashed with the police.

Students say that school hours are excessively long, and that conditions in schools are inadequate, including high temperatures in classrooms, as well as frequent staff absences.

The government says these complaints are legitimate, but rejects acts of violence.

The protests also gained a political dimension, a little more than 6 months before the presidential elections, as the government accused the radical leftist “France Proud” party, whose leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon is running for president, of being behind the movement.

At the same time, Education Minister Edward Jeffrey, after meeting with movement organizers on Friday, announced the launch of an “action plan” soon to “accelerate the replacement” of teachers, especially in the first and last years of secondary school.

He acknowledged that he “will not be in a position to make a decision regarding the beginning of the 2027 academic year,” which will follow the presidential elections.

The Union of Secondary School Students (USL) responded with a call to “continue mobilization... and join the third semester movement on Tuesday,” a day of major national demonstrations, according to Riad Rani, president of this student union.

A broad coalition of national education unions called for participation, “including through strikes.”

The National Crisis Management Center in Lithuania revealed that Vilnius Airport was closed for less than an hour today (Saturday), and fighters belonging to the NATO air police mission in the Baltic region were dispatched, after a suspected drone was reported to have entered Lithuanian airspace coming from Belarus.

The center said that the authorities are working to determine the reasons for the warning related to the drone.

This comes after Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas announced yesterday (Friday) that his country is testing an air surveillance system developed in Ukraine to protect against drone threats.

“Aerial threats change rapidly, so we adapt our solutions accordingly,” Kaunas said in a statement. “Instead of developing everything from scratch, we adapt systems already in use in Ukraine.”

Ukraine, which is in its fifth year of defending itself against the comprehensive Russian invasion, is a world leader in drone warfare.

The Lithuanian authorities said that the “Heavenly Fortress” system uses artificial intelligence to monitor and track low-flying drones and cruise missiles, based on sound waves and electromagnetic signals.

The ministry explained that the system can classify observed objects in real time.

Today (Saturday), Russian strikes hit an important bridge in the Ukrainian capital, the North Bridge, two days after targeting the South Bridge, according to what Kiev Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko announced.

Klitschko wrote on Telegram: “The North Bridge was hit and emergency equipment was on its way,” after sirens sounded in Kiev to warn of an attack by marches. He pointed out that the road surface and electric bus cables on the bridge were damaged, which was closed to traffic.

This is the second major bridge in Kiev to be targeted in recent days, after the South Bridge was attacked on Thursday and Friday by Russian marches, which led to its closure to traffic and caused a stifling traffic jam in the city, which is divided by the Dnieper River.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kiev has feared that its eight main vehicle and railway bridges, which are essential infrastructure for the capital, will be targeted.

On Friday, the city municipality imposed traffic restrictions on the main Baton and Metro bridges, although there were no reports of them being targeted. An Agence France-Presse correspondent also reported that restrictions were imposed on the Darnitsky Bridge on the same morning.