India, Oct. 21 -- On Saturday, as mass protests swept France, a youth orchestra struck a defiant note beneath a towering statue of Marianne, the representation of the French Republic. They played the Imperial Marchfrom Star Wars and the Avengers theme. Protesters cheered, waving placards saying, "They don't care about us". Minutes later, the orchestra was tear-gassed. By evening, columns of smoke from burning vehicles rose higher than the 82-foot statue. Marianne was wearing a yellow vest flapping in the wind; it read, "2026: The police are mutilating school students."

For a month now, France's Gen Z has retained its irreverence amid police brutality with remarkable determination. Protests began mid-September at Lycee Saint-Exupery in Cr...