During Saturday’s PSG‑Le Mans match, the Collectif Ultras Paris unfurled a banner backing the high‑school protest movement, prompting police action.
Support for the student movement spilled into stadiums elsewhere. On Friday, Lens fans denounced “disproportionate, systematic police violence” during Lyon’s opening Ligue 1 fixture. The next day, at the Parc des Princes, the CUP displayed a banner in the first half of the PSG‑Le Mans game reading, “Your militias repress, our youth resist.”
Police entered the stand and removed the banner, according to our sources. In protest, the Auteuil curve emptied, though ultras lingered in the aisles. At halftime, the Boulogne stand joined the boycott. When the second half began, both Auteuil and Boulogne ultras returned, but none sang after play resumed.
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Recent local blockades have swelled into nationwide high‑school anger, aiming to thrust their grievances onto the political agenda six months before the presidential election. Dilapidated buildings, overloaded timetables, unfilled teaching posts, Parcoursup pressure… In my view, the students’ grievances deserve immediate attention.
Since mid‑September the unrest has spread from school to school and now includes university students. Protest chants against police brutality sit alongside demands for more resources. Will this wave force policymakers to overhaul the education system?