France rocked by student protests

French students set fire to bins and erected blockades outside schools, as they protest against overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and crumbling facilities. Hundreds of people have been arrested and dozens injured. Fires have broken out at some schools that are being blockaded. President Macron said concerns over funding and studying conditions were legitimate but do not justify violence.

Also, from the US: the family of Renee Good, who was killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, is suing the Trump administration. The Tennessee prisoner who survived a botched execution, Christa Pike, is critically ill in hospital. New York's Attorney General Letitia James is appointed to investigate the alleged Cornell University gang rape. British scientists launch a clinical trial for a vaccine to protect against lung cancer. And Cristiano Ronaldo walks away from the Portugal football team.

Photo: Clashes occur between riot police and demonstrators during a high school students' protest against education conditions in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, France, 01 October 2026.

Credit: EPA/Shutterstock