Hundreds of French high schools were closed or blockaded this week as students in Paris’ deprived suburbs participated in nationwide protests over underfunded schools, teacher shortages, and unsafe conditions, with allegations of police violence.
The student-led protests, sparked by deteriorating school conditions in Paris’ Seine-Saint-Denis suburbs, escalated into a national crisis by late September 2026. The movement, initially focused on overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages, expanded to demand systemic reforms in public education, which protesters say perpetuates inequality.
On October 1, 2026, students gathered near Lycée Deodat high school in Toulouse, south-western France, as part of a nationwide wave of protests. Over 400 schools were shut in the aftermath of the rallies, which saw thousands of students mobilize to voice discontent with run-down school buildings, long days, and teacher shortages. French high school days can stretch from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., depending on timetables. The country’s Interior Ministry reported that 1,027 of France’s roughly 3,700 lycées were affected Thursday, including 222 that were blockaded.
Protesters Push for School Reforms in Poor Areas
Union representatives like Louise Paternoster of the CGT education union noted that two-thirds of Seine-Saint-Denis schools had unfilled teacher positions. The average per-student education spending in France has stood at €11,660 in 2024 and €11,910 in 2010. When there is a collapse of the public service, of public education, those who feel it the most, and the most violently, are those at bottom,
said political scientist Ulysse Rabate of Paris 8 University.
Protesters also pointed to the government’s decision to sharply expand access to the baccalauréat without providing schools with sufficient resources. Professor Clemence Cardon-Quint at Paul Valery University noted that this policy left schools struggling to meet demand. Teacher Dilan Roche from Pantin, located on the northeastern edge of Paris, joined her students during their protest outside the school this week to back their demands and shield them from police. Overcrowded classes, no nurses, no social workers — which is problematic for students with learning difficulties, many living in precarity,
she said.
Government, Unions Confront Education Protests
Education Minister Edouard Geffray called the protests legitimate at the outset
but faced criticism for a 1.7% budget increase—below inflation—to €65.53 billion, excluding teacher pensions. The Interior Ministry condemned the unrest, citing education staff injured including 40 school principals.
Sophia, a 17-year-old baccalaureate student at Paris’s Lycée Voltaire, stated: We hope this grows into a massive youth protest movement,
detailing issues such as insufficient state funding for education, overcrowded classrooms with up to 40 students in dilapidated facilities, low teacher salaries, staff shortages, and an inequitable system where socioeconomic status dictates success. The government’s 2027 budget also proposed freezing wages for public sector workers like teachers, alongside government cuts of 3,256 teacher positions nationwide in 2026.
On Friday morning, fire damaged the entrances of two high schools in Paris: Léonard de Vinci in the south and Gaston-Bachelard in the south-east. A 14-year-old boy from Val d’Oise sustained severe mouth and jaw injuries following an alleged police beating and the use of a rubber-bullet launcher.
Unanswered Questions as Protests Continue
The protests intensified political divisions. Meanwhile, the European Union’s second-largest economy has repeatedly broken the bloc’s rules on budget deficits and debt limits, with France’s deficit reaching 5.1% of GDP last year, while its debt-to-GDP ratio hit 119% by the end of June. The 2027 budget was targeting a fiscal adjustment worth 54 billion euros ($60.8 billion),
said Finance Minister Roland Lescure.
Key questions remain: Will the government revise its 2027 budget to address education needs? How will the ongoing protests affect France’s EU fiscal negotiations? And can the Interior Ministry’s crackdown curb the movement, or will it fuel further unrest? For now, students like Yves at Lycée Voltaire insist their barricades will stay until their demands are met.
“Yesterday I heard bangs going off every two minutes, it’s loud and scary when things are being fired horizontally and not up into the air. There were people provoking running battles with police but it wasn’t pupils from our school.”
Yves, student protester, Lycée Voltaire