Angry students have taken to the streets in France to show their anger over the French education system.

The demonstrations started earlier this week in Paris before spreading across the country. Students say they are protesting over a lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms, unsafe environments, and run-down buildings.

According to reports, much of the protest has been violent. Videos shared on social media showed young residents setting vehicles and bins on fire in multiple locations.

Another video showed a group of masked people, some of whom weree dressed all in black, attacking a fire engine outside Lycee Saint-Expury, a school in France’s second largest city.

In some cases, residents were attacked. A video showed a hooded individual spraying what appears to be a makeshift aerosol flamethrower at a woman’s face, before walking away.

The French education ministry said the protests happened at more than 560 schools on Friday.

Earlier, the ministry said 400 of the country’s 3,700 high schools were expected to be closed.

Gerald Darmanin, justice minister, said about 2,000 people have been arrested since the protests began.

“We’re not entirely sure that they are even high school students themselves,” Darmanin said.

The minister added that two-thirds of the 2,000 people arrested since protests began have been placed in police custody.

1. The Imo state police command says members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) were among those abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha expressway on Thursday morning.

Okoye Henry, police spokesperson in Imo, said in a statement that 10 of the victims had been rescued.

He said the exact number of persons abducted was still being verified and would be made public once confirmed.

2. Despite President Bola Tinubu’s directive that transportation fares should begin to fall from October 1 through the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses, commuters across several states have continued to pay the same, and in some cases higher, fares.
Findings by The PUNCH across the states on Thursday showed that the presidential directive had yet to translate into widespread reductions in transport fares.

3. US President Donald Trump warned on Thursday that Iran will be “hit very hard” if it is found to be linked to a pilot’s attack on a flydubai flight to Israel. The dramatic events a day earlier saw passengers help stop the plane from crashing, making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia before the flight’s mostly Israeli passengers were flown home to a hero’s welcome.

4. Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday confirmed that personnel of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) have started receiving their September salaries, with the approved salary increase now reflected in their payments. But public service workers under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) have declared a three-day warning strike from October 2 to 4, 2026, over what they described as worsening economic and mental hardship affecting workers and their dependants

5. Former political associates and grassroots allies of ex-Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, have rejected accusations of betrayal, insisting that it was the former governor who abandoned the political understanding that brought them together. The former allies, under the aegis of Kaduna De-Initiative, said they supported, campaigned for and defended El-Rufai while helping to build political structures across the state before their relationship became strained.

6. The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has vowed not to spend his holidays outside Nigeria if elected president in the 2027 general elections. Obi made the pledge in his Independence Day address delivered in Abuja on Thursday, saying he would use his four-year tenure to travel across the country, interact with Nigerians and better understand their challenges.

7. The Rivers State Police Command has arrested a man identified as Seth for allegedly macheting his father to death in the Pipeline area of Rumukwurushi, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state. The command also said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the motive for the alleged killing.

8. Mr Akin Osuntokun, a former Presidential spokesman has described former Vice- President Atiku Abubakar’s repeated reference to President Bola Tinubu as “Bola” in his Oct. 1 Independence Day address as disrespectful and an affront to the office of the President. Osuntokun who was also the Director-General of Peter Obi’s presidential campaign in the 2023 election said this in a statement on Thursday.

9. The Imo State Police Command has rescued 10 passengers abducted by gunmen who attacked two commercial buses in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state. The command also recovered the two buses involved in the incident and intensified efforts to rescue other passengers still in captivity.

10. The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has expressed anger over the police cancellation of a two-million-man march organised by the “Obidient Movement” in support of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, in Uyo. The state Commissioner of Police, Baba Azare, had warned all political parties to stop any rally or street march on Independence Day.

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the leadership crisis rocking the ranks of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has deepened in the North-East, with governorship candidates in the region rejecting former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, as the party’s zonal leader.

The Adamawa State governorship candidates said they do not recognise Lawal in the position and have dissociated themselves from any statements, directives or meetings he may undertake in that capacity.

The candidates said the role of a zonal leader requires broad consultation and recognition by party stakeholders across the region.

They maintained that Lawal was not mandated to speak for them, issue directives, convene meetings or represent their collective interests.

The latest position comes days after six NDC governorship candidates from Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe rejected Lawal’s appointment, alleging that they were not consulted before the decision was taken.

The candidates are now calling on the national leadership of the party to engage relevant stakeholders in the North-East and resolve the leadership question ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Lawal, however, has defended his emergence, saying his appointment was made by the national leadership of the NDC.