October 14, 2026
Today, Tuesday, France is preparing to witness a new round of student protests aimed at maintaining the momentum of the movement demanding improved educational conditions, at a time when the government confirms a decline in school closures despite the continuing unrest and the recording of new infections among education sector workers.
Tuesday’s mobilization is an extension of a broad movement that began in mid-September, which witnessed the participation of about 256,000 people in protests last Tuesday, according to official statistics of the French Ministry of the Interior.
On the other hand, the Ministry of National Education announced that more than 96% of secondary schools opened their doors last Friday, while 130 institutions were closed on Monday compared to 172 institutions on Friday, considering that the protest movement is “clearly declining.”
Despite its acknowledgment of a decline in closure rates, the ministry indicated an escalation in violence, recording the injury of at least eight workers in the national education sector on Monday. The Paris region alone witnessed the disruption of the activities of about 80 secondary schools, in addition to the injury of a school principal, a parent, and an employee during the protests.
In a related context, these movements coincide with calls made by online activists to organize additional demonstrations next Saturday to protest living conditions, in a scene that brings to mind the “yellow vest” movement that shook France in 2018 in protest against the plan to raise fuel prices. According to a government source, the cost of damage resulting from the protests has so far been estimated at at least 30 million euros.
In terms of law enforcement, the Ministry of Justice announced last Friday the arrest of more than 6,800 people since the start of the demonstrations, noting that the percentage of minors among them amounted to 86%. Confrontations between protesters and riot police also resulted in serious injuries among students, which sparked sharp criticism of police practices and forced the government to temporarily suspend the use of stun grenades after a student had his hand amputated as a result of one of them, while the police opened 18 internal investigations into accusations against its members.
Regarding the government’s responsive policy, the authorities attempted during the past week to contain the crisis by putting forward a package of proposals. On Sunday, Prime Minister Sebastian LeCorno pledged to allocate additional resources to schools within the 2027 budget, in response to a number of demands made by students through an electronic platform that the government created specifically for this purpose.
