Firefighter set alight during Bordeaux student protest

A French firefighter was set alight by an exploding aerosol can while responding to a student protest in downtown Bordeaux on Tuesday, September 29. He was hospitalized but later released and placed on sick leave. The incident occurred on Rue Sainte-Catherine after students blocked a nearby school as part of nationwide protests. Firefighters reported that a can thrown into a small blaze exploded as they arrived, engulfing the responder in flames. Authorities condemned the attack, saying no demonstration justifies endangering emergency workers. The protests over classroom conditions have spread nationwide, with nearly 3,000 students arrested and over 300 police and firefighters injured.