French Students Return to Smaller Protests

High school students in France restarted their protests on Monday after returning from a two-week holiday break. The number of schools affected dropped sharply compared to the weeks prior to the pause in the academic calendar.

The Ministry of Education reported that 41 high schools were blockaded on Monday. Franceinfo, a French public broadcaster, noted this figure represents approximately one percent of the 3,700 high schools in the country. In contrast, Reuters reported that hundreds of schools were blockaded in the weeks leading up to the break. Attempts to shut down schools occurred in Paris, Marseille, and Rennes.

Education Minister Edouard Geffray told France Inter radio that the current level of disruption is marginal. He described the situation as involving a handful of individual schools. Geffray stated that while protests are permitted, preventing access to schools is illegal. According to the state news service Franceinfo, Geffray warned that the school year is at risk for several hundred thousand pupils.

The movement began in September in the Paris suburbs and expanded across France. By October, the focus of the anger widened from education to the cost of living. This shift drew in trade unionists and activists. The protests posed a test for President Emmanuel Macron’s minority government, as demonstrations in several cities turned into violent clashes with police and included riots and looting of shops.

Students are demanding the renovation of aging schools, more teachers, additional university places, and changes to a university admissions system they view as socially unfair. The government announced a package of measures last week. It pledged a gradual replacement of the Parcoursup admissions platform by 2028, the cancellation of planned education job cuts, and 500 additional teaching posts.

The government also promised a cap of 28 pupils per class in the first year of high school. Franceinfo reported that the state committed 4 billion euros, or 4.47 billion dollars, to renovate schools. The plan includes 15,000 new places in higher education. Student representatives said these offers were insufficient and vowed to continue protesting.

Pierre Sourzat, president of the student organization Les Lyceens!, said on Sunday that the group is calling for a blockade. The Union Syndicale Lyceenne and the Student Union have called for further blockades on Tuesday and Thursday. The UNEF student union designated Tuesday as a black day for universities, with blockades expected across the country.