Police and youth: Marine Le Pen accuses Mélenchon and LFI of stepping outside the republican framework
By calling on his supporters to intervene between young people and the police, by speaking of « police brutality, » and by declaring that violence can be legitimate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and La France Insoumise are placing themselves outside the bounds of republican principles. Such remarks should outrage the entire political and media establishment. They are unacceptable, and all those who claim to be republicans should condemn them unequivocally and without reservation.
Marine Le Pen accuses Jean-Luc Mélenchon and La France Insoumise of stepping outside the « republican framework » in their support for the protesting high school students. Her attack, published on September 29, 2026, targets real statements. However, it lumps together under one name declarations made by two different leaders—and ignores an ongoing investigation into a police intervention.
The main fact
The leader of the National Rally is calling for an unequivocal condemnation of the remarks made by members of La France Insoumise regarding the high school blockades. The National Rally elaborates on this criticism in a petition published on its website. However, the expression « outside the republican framework » is a political judgment by Marine Le Pen , not a qualification established by a court decision.
What happened
On September 28, Jean-Luc Mélenchon called on elected officials and members of La France Insoumise to intervene between high school students and law enforcement during blockades. He accused the government of choosing repression. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu responded by denouncing violence around schools and an escalation he deemed irresponsible. These positions and their chronology were reported by LCP.
On September 29, Mélenchon used the expression « police brutality. » The statement that violence can be legitimate, however, comes from Bally Bagayoko, the La France Insoumise mayor of Saint-Denis , who adds that it is better to avoid it. This detail does not make his words innocuous. It simply prevents them from being attributed to Mélenchon.
The context
The blockades focus in particular on staff shortages and study conditions, according to student demands reported by LCP. Violence and vandalism have also been reported around schools. Reducing the movement to these excesses erases its demands; ignoring the excesses does not make them disappear.
The question of the use of force cannot be dismissed either. On September 28, in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône, a high school student was injured in the face by a police grenade launcher. According to information obtained by Le Monde from the prosecutor, two investigations have been opened: one into the shooting, the other into a blow struck by the student against a police officer. Their opening does not prejudge anyone’s responsibility.
What the facts show
Marine Le Pen denounces a discourse that, in her view, encourages confrontation with the police. Mélenchon presents his appeal as a protection of students. Between these two narratives, one rule remains: Article R. 434-18 of the Internal Security Code requires police officers and gendarmes to use force that is necessary and proportionate. Violence against individuals is not excused by a demand; a police intervention is not exempt from scrutiny simply because it responds to a blockade.
Key takeaways
The controversy rests on three distinct elements: Mélenchon’s call to intervene, his denunciation of the police, and a statement by Bagayoko about violence. Merging them serves the political agenda. Distinguishing them allows us to ask the necessary questions: what happened in front of the high schools, what acts of violence were committed, and how did the police intervene?
Source: Marine Le Pen
