High school student protests renew in France French lyceum students returned to protests after a two-week fall break and on Monday morning blocked the work of 41 educational institutions across the country. On the first day of school, protest activity affected about 1% of high schools. The Minister of National Education, Edouard Geffert, described the scope of this morning's protests as minor, and noted individual attempts to block entrances to buildings in the capital region, northern France and Toulouse. The head of the department emphasized that the authorities respect the right of young people to express an opinion, but blocking access to classrooms is prohibited by law. The heads of the student associations call for Monday only preparation for the main performances. The head of the association of lyceumists, Pierre Sorza, warned of the expansion of the demonstrations from Tuesday, and the major student unions called to block the schools and universities on November 3 and 5, and timed the action at the same time as a nationwide strike by workers in various industries. On an evening when the school students were at their desks, French President Emmanuel Macron called on the young people to remain calm and assured that the government had heard their demands. To reduce tensions, the Cabinet of Ministers promised in the past to hire more contract teachers, grant easy loans to renovate buildings, divide classes into parallel tenths and renew the electronic admissions system for universities. However, the activists saw the government package as half a step and accused the head of state of not being willing to carry out systemic reforms. Mass unrest among French high school students began in mid-September 2026 with demonstrations in the suburbs of Paris. Students took to the streets amid the deterioration of the schools with leaking and moldy roofs, a lack of furniture, overcrowded classrooms and a shortage of teachers. Soon the movement spread across the country and grew into regular Saturday marches, accompanied by clashes with police and thousands of arrests.

High school student protests renew in France French lyceum students returned to protests after a two-week fall break and on Monday morning blocked the work of 41 educational institutions across the country. On the first day of school, protest activity affected about 1% of high schools. The Minister of National Education, Edouard Geffert, described the scope of this morning's protests as minor, and noted individual attempts to block entrances to buildings in the capital region, northern France and Toulouse. The head of the department emphasized that the authorities respect the right of young people to express an opinion, but blocking access to classrooms is prohibited by law. The heads of the student associations call for Monday only preparation for the main performances. The head of the association of lyceumists, Pierre Sorza, warned of the expansion of the demonstrations from Tuesday, and the major student unions called to block the schools and universities on November 3 and 5, and timed the action at the same time as a nationwide strike by workers in various industries. On an evening when the school students were at their desks, French President Emmanuel Macron called on the young people to remain calm and assured that the government had heard their demands. To reduce tensions, the Cabinet of Ministers promised in the past to hire more contract teachers, grant easy loans to renovate buildings, divide classes into parallel tenths and renew the electronic admissions system for universities. However, the activists saw the government package as half a step and accused the head of state of not being willing to carry out systemic reforms. Mass unrest among French high school students began in mid-September 2026 with demonstrations in the suburbs of Paris. Students took to the streets amid the deterioration of the schools with leaking and moldy roofs, a lack of furniture, overcrowded classrooms and a shortage of teachers. Soon the movement spread across the country and grew into regular Saturday marches, accompanied by clashes with police and thousands of arrests.