French police arrest teenager for aerosol flamethrower attack during student protests

French police have arrested a teenager on suspicion of using an aerosol can to direct a jet of flames at a woman’s face during high school and university student protests sweeping the country.

The altercation was filmed on Thursday in the southern port city of Marseille, where protesters attacked public transport, torching at least one bus and a fire engine. The victim, a social worker, told BFM TV that she was waiting for a bus when a crowd of young people approached and began vandalizing the bus stop. She said she tried to intervene, prompting one of the youths to use an aerosol can as an improvised flamethrower.

“I wasn’t expecting such violence. I thought I might get shoved … I didn’t expect kids to be so violent,” the woman said. “Fortunately, my face didn’t suffer injuries as serious as the images might suggest,” she added.

She suffered first-degree burns to her face, according to Le Parisien.

Police identified the suspect as a 15-year-old boy whose name has not been released.

The demonstrations began in late September over unfilled teaching posts at a high school in Creteil, near Paris, before spreading nationwide as students demanded better learning conditions, including more teachers, smaller classes, and repairs to deteriorating buildings. They have also called for increased funding for public schools.

More than 1,200 schools have been affected this week, and over 5,000 people have been arrested as the protests escalated into violence. National Police spokesperson Agathe Foucault said on Saturday that more than 600 police officers and gendarmes had been injured, while Paris police chief Patrice Faure described the unrest as “out of control.”

Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on Friday that 65 education staff, including 40 headteachers, had been injured since the protests began. He also reported severe damage at more than 100 schools.

Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin has called for a firm criminal justice response and, where appropriate, for parents to be held civilly liable for damage caused by their children. The government has also blamed the violence on the left-wing La France Insoumise (France Unbowed, LFI) party and “its far-left proxies.” The party has denied the allegation and urged students to stick to nonviolent methods.

Student unions have distanced themselves from the violence but called for further demonstrations on October 6, saying the government has yet to offer concrete measures addressing their concerns.

Louise Paternoster, a CGT education union representative in Seine-Saint-Denis, blamed staffing shortages on government cuts that eliminated 3,256 teaching positions nationwide in 2026.

The government’s proposed 2027 budget, unveiled on Thursday, would increase education funding by €1.2 billion ($1.35 billion) while eliminating another 1,588 teaching posts. Geffray has defended the planned reductions, citing falling pupil numbers.

The student unrest has coincided with broader labor action across France, with unions staging strikes and demonstrations over wages, public spending, and the government’s budget plans.