France: deputy mayor doused with petrol amid high‑school blockades
Attack in Chelles came as protests blocked dozens of high schools; government reports almost 300 education staff injured since mid‑September.
On 10 November 2026, France's authorities reported a sharp rise in tensions as nationwide high-school protests continued. Government spokesperson Matthieu Lefevre said almost 300 education staff have been injured since demonstrations began in mid-September.
"We have nearly 300 education staff injured. This violence is absolutely unacceptable and all political forces must call for calm and dialogue," Lefevre said after a government meeting.
French media outlets said that 49 high schools across the country were blocked on the morning of 10 November, evidence of the protests' continued spread beyond university campuses and city centres.
Attack in Chelles
Violence escalated further in the town of Chelles, in the Seine-et-Marne department, where municipal councillor and deputy mayor Angela Pasco dos Santos was doused with petrol while trying to stop a bin from being set on fire near the Gaston Bachelard high school.
Pasco dos Santos said a young man threw a bottle of petrol at her chest, after which she filed a complaint for attempted murder. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez condemned the incident, calling it urban violence that requires the firmest possible response.
Photo: press material from the event
