France's government is facing a challenge from teenagers. High school protests that began in mid-September have spread nationwide, with class strikes, blockades and demonstrations reaching even small towns. After a weekend lull, students returned to the barricades, and there is little sign that the movement is ready to fade.

By the start of this week, the interior minister said police had made more than 5,000 arrests in the previous seven days, and 85% of those arrested were minors. Hundreds of protesters have been injured, and hundreds of police officers too. The education minister says 400 or 500 schools have closed because of damage or attacks on staff, and that more than 170 pupils and 78 staff members have been hurt. Violence at the edges of these protests is real, and it harms the very students trying to make a point.

The first protest, in Creteil near Paris, was about a lack of staff at one school. From the outset, pupils also pointed to inequality, saying students in poorer neighborhoods get weaker teaching, worse facilities and fewer chances to move ahead. One placard said education is a right, not a privilege. In a country whose motto promises equality, that is hard to dismiss.

Their daily complaints are concrete too. Classrooms are boiling in summer and freezing in winter. French media have shown rats, leaks and collapsed ceilings. French high schoolers also have some of the longest compulsory school hours in Europe. One girl wrote that she sees her teachers more than her family.

The government can say it is spending heavily. Its proposed 2027 budget sets aside 65.5 billion euros ($73.31 billion) for schools, more than the 63.4 billion euros for defense. But a big number does not fix a leaking roof. Students judge the system by their own classrooms, not by a budget table. If money is not reaching the schools that need it most, the argument over the total misses the point.

Far-left lawmakers backed the protesters early, and Jean-Luc Melenchon has called the police response "savagery." His critics say his party is stirring up pupils for political gain. He says his party supports the protests but does not organize them and wants them to stay peaceful. He is 75, running for president for a fourth time, and hopes to win over young voters who turned out less than other age groups in 2022.

Both things can be true. A party can seek advantage from a movement that still has genuine grievances. Treating the protests mainly as a plot excuses the government from answering the students.

The government should do two things at once. It should restore order and investigate violence on all sides. And it should publish a clear plan for teachers, buildings and the poorest schools, with dates and targets the public can check.

The movement is no longer only about teenagers. The CGT, one of France's most influential unions, has backed the students, and its leader, Sophie Binet, has said its members would join the demonstrations to protect high school pupils as tensions rise and schools stay closed. That matters because it brings adult workers into a protest that began in classrooms, and it makes the government's job harder.

If the movement keeps widening, Paris will have to choose between a tougher police response and real talks. Force may clear the streets for a while, but only visible change in their schools will answer the question the students are asking.