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French students resume school blockades over education conditions and living costs

Nationwide · pinned on Paris, France · since Sep 1, 2026

Is it still on?

YESDay 64 and counting, since Sep 1.

Last report · checked

The Tea in three lines

Why they are protesting
Students are protesting over aging school infrastructure, lack of teachers, university access fairness, and the rising cost of living.
What they want
Protesters demand school building renovations, more teachers, additional university places, and the abolition of the admissions platform.
What changed
Nov 2: Education Ministry reported 41 high schools blockaded as students returned from holiday, while unions planned further actions.
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Both sides

What protesters want

  • Renovation of aging schools
  • More teachers and replacement staff
  • More university places
  • An end to the Parcoursup university admissions system
  • Measures addressing the high cost of living

Organised by: Les Lyceens!, Union Syndicale Lyceenne, Student Union, UNEF, Renouveau Lycéen

What authorities say

Education Minister Edouard Geffray stated that blockades are illegal and put the school year at risk, while police officers attempted to remove barricades and made arrests outside some schools.12

The numbers

Only figures a source states, with who said it. Estimates often differ.

Arrests / detentions
0
Police officers outside some schools attempted to drag the bins away and made arrests.2

The full story

High school and university students across France resumed blockades following a two-week holiday break, continuing a wave of protests that began in September. Demonstrators barricaded school entrances using items like wheelie bins in Paris, Marseille, Rennes, Lille, and Toulouse to demand building repairs, increased staffing, more higher education places, and broader action against the rising cost of living. The Ministry of Education stated that 41 high schools were blockaded on Monday, representing a small fraction of the country's institutions. Education Minister Edouard Geffray criticized the blockades for putting the school year at risk for hundreds of thousands of pupils, noting that blocking school access is illegal while maintaining that protests are permitted. Student representatives dismissed recent government concessions—which included platform changes, funding promises, and class size caps—as insufficient and pledged to continue their actions, with trade unions planning a nationwide strike.

Timeline

  1. The Ministry of Education reported 41 high schools blockaded across the country as students returned from their two-week holiday.12

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