B2. Paris on Fire: 7000 Arrests 🔥 Full Story

For three weeks, high school students all across France have been protesting, marching through the streets, fighting with police.

The mainstream media say it's because the students — they say their schools don't have enough teachers or enough money, and the classrooms are old. Which are fair complaints.

So to help the situation, they attacked 89 teachers and school staff — 89 — and they damaged or burned over a hundred schools.

So that's a strange solution to the problem, right? Complain there's not enough of something, and then destroy what there is of it.

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In today's B2 English listening, we'll learn about the current French riots. The transcript is free in 50 languages on my website.

So here's the facts. Over 7,000 people — 7,000 — have been arrested, and most of them are under 18 years old.

Over 800 police officers have been injured, and 215 students have been injured too.

So what's the truth? Who's behind it? Can students alone cause this kind of destruction? Or are there — is there more to the story?

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The protests began in September at a high school just outside of Paris. Students and parents and teachers, they stood outside the school gates and they demanded more money for schools.

And their complaints were fair. They were real.

Teachers were often absent and they were not replaced. I mean, sometimes the teachers would be absent for weeks. Weeks with no replacement.

Some classes, they now have 35 students, and it was less before.

In some buildings, water comes through the ceilings, and also the school days are very long.

And I can agree with that, because you guys might not know this, but I lived in France. I lived in France when I was 11 years old, and I remember the school finishing at 5 o'clock. 5!

And I remember looking at the clock. Tick, tick. And the day lasting forever. I remember that.

At first, only a few schools were blocked by protests. Blocked means when people can't go in and out of the school.

But then a few schools grew into more schools. And by the end of September, the police were arresting people. And in one single day, 440 people were arrested by the police.

By October 1st, more than a thousand high schools were affected.

Universities joined in the protests too. And nearly 3,000 people were arrested at this point. Arrested and taken by the police.

On October 6th, the protests grew to 256,000 people.

But at this point, the movement was changing shape. It was taking on a new form.

And much of the international media, such as France 24, the BBC, Al Jazeera — so they focused on the violent police. The violent police beating the more innocent students that just want a better education.

And they said the police were being too brutal. And maybe.

One 15-year-old boy student, he picked up a police grenade, which exploded in his hand. And this boy, he lost his left hand from a police grenade.

And another 16-year-old student, he was hit with a rubber bullet. A rubber bullet in the eye. And he has lost his vision in one eye. He's blind in one eye now. Forever.

Then the human rights organisation Amnesty International — Amnesty International told France, "Stop the police brutality."

But were they being too brutal, as they say? Well, if they were, then why have 761 police officers been injured? Did they just injure themselves?

Or are these statistics lies? Or what? That means three police officers were injured for every one student injured.

And on the mainstream media — and this is the part maybe you have not heard about — on the BBC, on France 24, the coverage that I watched, there was no mention of the injured police officers, little mention of the destroyed schools, compared to their talk about the police brutality. Hmm.

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And so while the BBC's cameras were focused on this police brutality and the desperate poor students, schools and teachers and principals were being attacked.

So in late September, a teacher and a school worker, they were pushed to the ground. They were beaten and kicked.

And another teacher had gasoline thrown at him. So while he tried to stop a fire — he tried to stop a fire.

And imagine trying to stop a fire, and then a student pours petrol on you. It's crazy.

And teachers' cars were set on fire.

And overall — overall, 89 school staff have been injured so far. And this includes dozens of head teachers — head teachers, principals.

And more than 100 high schools, probably more now, have been seriously damaged or set on fire.

And this includes one school, the Nelson Mandela High School. The Nelson Mandela High School was just burned out. Two million dollars of damage.

And at this point, the protesters were firing — shooting fireworks at the police, and throwing acid. Throwing acid at the police.

Hmm. Now, think about that.

Why would you destroy the schools, causing over 40 million euros of damage, and then complain that there's no money for your schools that you just destroyed?

And why injure teachers and seriously scare them? They're people too. I'm a teacher. And then say there's not enough teachers.

I would never want to teach in France. Now, just the thought of going into a French high school classroom — and well, any high school classroom — and imagine facing the same people that earlier were trying to attack me.

Nobody will want to teach now.

And even before all of this, the number of secondary teachers quitting in France had grown four times bigger in the last 10 years. So already teachers were quitting.

And in one survey, 77 percent of school staff said that they would tell young people — like they would say, you know, "My students, don't become teachers, don't be a teacher," they'd say.

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So, who is doing all of this? Are they really students?

People aren't 100 percent sure, but the Justice Minister, Gérald Darmanin, said he wasn't sure the violent people were high school students at all.

Now it seems ultra-violent groups are involved. Other groups as well — young people all dressed in black with their faces covered.

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So, the money. So the students say this is about money. So let's look at the money.

France does have real problems in its schools. And in the latest international PISA tests — which is the international tests to see which education systems around the world are doing better than others — the French schools in maths and reading, compared to other countries, have fallen by a lot.

And some of the schools really are falling apart. And some classes really do have no teachers.

But France already spends so much on education. In 2025, France spent more money on education than ever in its history. 199 billion euros.

And next year's school budget is already the biggest item on the whole country's state budget. So they already are spending more on education than on the military, defence, and on everything else.

So for high school students, France already spends 24 percent more on each student than the average developed country in the OECD.

So what's going on with the money? Maybe the money is just really, really badly managed. Like, seriously, awfully managed.

But France has a bigger problem. Debt.

France has more debt than any other European country. Well, besides Italy and Greece. But I mean, you know, Greece and Italy, like they don't really count, right? Because they're always like that. They've been like that as long as I've been alive.

France has more debt than any respectable European country. No kidding.

I'm half Italian, so I'm allowed to make that joke. I love the Mediterranean guys.

OK, so the interest that France has to pay back is more than the whole education budget. And France already taxes French citizens like 50 percent tax. Well, it's like 48 percent tax.

So where is this extra money going to come from? And the students, they want 10 billion euros more.

But, you know, from where?

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Next, the flags.

Meanwhile, there were many different flags of various participants, as well as French flags. There's also the flags of many left-wing parties, ultra-left workers' unions, communist party, and flags from other countries, such as an Algerian flag, Moroccan flags — especially the flag of Palestine. Palestine. Why?

You may ask, why? Why the Algerian flag? There's a huge Algerian population in France. Very big Algerian population.

So you might ask, why are Algerians upset? France spends like 11 times more on education for each student than Algeria, for example.

And I mean, there are other flags as well. So you could say, well, what are Algerians complaining about?

So people on the right, they now say that this protest shows us that multiculturalism doesn't work. And why are they saying that?

They say that most protesters that they see are second, third generation immigrants, and that in the end, they're not able to integrate.

That these children are not loyal to the flag of France. Well, they're loyal to the flag of their parents' country before being loyal to the flag of France.

And they say they don't appreciate the country, France, that gave them everything.

And they're saying the French children that are marching with them have learned to hate France. That schools have taught them that France and Western civilisation and the white man are evil, are things to fight against for freedom.

They're fighting the oppressor. The good fight. Fighting the imperial people. The empire.

And that they don't learn or know about the good things that have come from Western civilisation. So they say on the right.

Next is the flag of Palestine. So the Palestinian flag is often seen in protests. So what does that tell us about the people in these protests?

And then came the most disturbing video of all, on October the 1st.

So the most disturbing video was a group of young people singing along to a rap song. And this song celebrates a terrorist who murdered three Jewish children and a teacher. And that's not in Palestine. That's there in France, in 2015.

So teenagers singing, glorifying a man who murdered children. So it's now clear that this is no longer just about schools, right? There's something more — something more at play.

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Who is behind it? There are five possible names, and I'm sure more.

Some say the ultra far-left political parties, such as LFI. So LFI has put Palestine at the centre of its politics.

Two years ago, the leader of the LFI told university students to put Palestinian flags everywhere they could.

And before the riots, LFI walked around the schools and encouraged students to blockade the schools. To blockade means to stop people going in and out of the schools.

And at these protests, a leader of LFI was seen shouting into a megaphone to the protesters, saying the youth are more dangerous than an atomic bomb when united. "Don't give up. Don't give up." So, you know, encouraging the protests.

Next is Iran. So Iran have complained to the French ambassador — complained about the violence used against the protesters. And Paris have said that Iran have spread disinformation, so fake news, around social media about the protests.

Next is the Americans. So Donald Trump has said that these protests are not about schools. They're not about education. This is the result of uncontrolled mass migration. And Trump said it was about Islam wanting to take over France.

And next, I mean, there could be Islamist organisations involved. You have to remember that the Muslim Brotherhood, which is a huge organisation with a history of violence — they are all over Europe.

This organisation is banned. They're illegal in many Muslim countries, like the UAE. They're illegal. Egypt — illegal, prohibited. Saudi Arabia to Jordan. But they're not banned in Europe.

So Hamas — Hamas, the terrorist organisation in Palestine — they come from the Muslim Brotherhood.

So many of these kinds of organisations can freely do what they want in the EU, because it's within their human rights, right? It's within their human rights to try to stop other people having human rights.

Next is the Chinese or the Russians, or some other foreign forces trying to destabilise the West. Trying to cause trouble in the West for their advantage.

Why do we think that? I saw a great independent journalist called Nate Friedman. So Nate Friedman found that the pro-Palestine — you know, the "Free Palestine" marches in New York City were funded, so were paid for — were funded by a tech millionaire who's connected to the Chinese state media.

So he claims the two main organisers of these pro-Palestine protests in New York City, they get paid $80,000 each per year to organise these protests. And they're like two, you know, young people. Late 20s, early 30s.

You know, they say they really believe in it, but at the same time, you know, they're getting paid quite a lot.

And he found them loading hundreds and hundreds of already-made signs into vans.

You know, these signs for protests — a protest sign is usually homemade, handmade. But they had already prepared hundreds of them, printed in advance, putting them into vans.

And then he quickly tries to talk to them, but then they, you know, they run off, afraid of him.

So why are possibly China paying for "Free Palestine" protests? And is the same thing happening in France, right? Is it? Nobody knows.

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So what's the result? What's the result of all of this?

Well, on Polymarket, which is the leading platform for betting, right? On Polymarket, the French right wing — so Marine Le Pen — so she will probably now be the next president of France.

And the right wing all across Europe have shot up in popularity, because people are just, you know, they're fed up of these kinds of behaviours. So they just want the party that has more law and order. Bang, bang, bang — law and order. Usually the right-wing parties.

And then you have to ask, as always, who gains from these protests? Well, they do.

Maybe they're behind it in some way. Who knows?

But every night on TV, burning schools and fights with police is a great advertisement for the law and order party.

And the election is just six months away.

It's funny how in life, when people get violent — right, when they get violent to get what they want — usually the opposite thing happens. And you see this throughout history, but as soon as they turn violent, then voters get pushed the other way.

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So here's my conclusion.

As you can see, the protests have spread to Belgium, for apparent similar reasons, in Brussels. Protests there now. In Spain, there's protests there now.

Europe is not what it was. France doesn't have the money for education.

And if you look at the economies across Europe, they are not what they were compared to, you know, when I was a kid. I was a kid like 30 years ago.

You could — one parent, one parent could work in an office, or even like a hairdresser. Like, my dad was a hairdresser for a good while, and my mum wasn't working.

You could support a family. That's right. You could literally pay for a family. That could never happen now. Both parents have to work.

Europe just has to understand that it's becoming a developing country.

Some economies are blowing up, right? Like across Southeast Asia, here in Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, you know, China as well. Their economies have done really well in the last 20 years. And the, you know, the Western ones haven't.

And that's just how the cookie crumbles. That's just life.

The country that's wealthy today is always a different story in 100 years.

So European people's expectations are too high. They still think that they're some kind of wealthy country, but they're not.

They can't afford better education. That's the simple reality.

And what happens if you go to schools — have you seen schools before in, like, India and some parts of Southeast Asia and Africa? Do you think they're better than France? No. At least the French schools are still better than them.

If you look at the GDP growth for France and for the UK, it's just like — it's just — it's dead, basically, for decades. It's just crept up like 2 percent per year, while other countries, their GDP growth goes up like 10.

This is just the way of the world. Guys, you have to accept it.

Europe is poor now.

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So what do you think about these protests? Share your opinion. Do you agree with them or disagree? And why?

All right, guys, ciao. Always a pleasure. Take care, and see you next time.