Why hundreds of French high schools are blocked: the 2026 student protests explained

French secondary schools have been disrupted for more than two weeks by a student movement demanding more teachers, smaller classes and better school buildings. On Friday, October 2, 2026, the Ministry of National Education said 564 schools were "concerned by mobilisations" that day, a figure reported by the press-monitoring outlet Titrespresse. Separately, the government said close to 400 of France's roughly 3,700 high schools were shut as a precaution, according to France 24.

What students are demanding

The protests are coordinated mainly by the Union syndicale lycéenne (USL), a high-school student union, according to the French Wikipedia entry tracking the movement, which draws on French news agency and press reporting. Students are calling for the recruitment and replacement of absent teachers, additional support staff, smaller class sizes, repairs to degraded school buildings, less congested timetables, more education funding, and changes to Parcoursup, the national university-admissions platform.

France 24 reported that students describe overheated classrooms and frequent staff absences as central complaints, on top of what they call excessively long school days.

How the movement escalated

According to the timeline compiled on French Wikipedia from media reporting, isolated blockade attempts began around September 18, with a more organised movement emerging on September 21 at the Lycée Saint-Exupéry in Créteil, near Paris. By September 24-25 roughly 60 schools in the Île-de-France region were affected. The movement spread nationally from September 28.

Figures for Sept 28 to Oct 1 come from the timeline on French Wikipedia, which cites contemporaneous French media; the October 2 figures come from Titrespresse and France 24.

Violence, injuries and property damage

The protests have included arson of waste bins, attacks on a school hall in Nantes, and fires affecting buses and a tram station in Marseille, according to the French Wikipedia timeline. France 24 reported that at least 65 school staff, including 40 principals, and 170 students had been injured as of October 2, with more than 100 high schools suffering severe damage. The French Wikipedia entry puts cumulative injuries as of October 1 at 318, broken down as 170 students, 65 education staff and 83 police officers.

In the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, regional council president Fabrice Pannekoucke estimated damage to schools at between €25 million and €30 million, speaking on franceinfo and reported by ici.fr. He said 93 of the region's roughly 300 high schools, concentrated around Lyon, Grenoble, Saint-Étienne and Clermont-Ferrand, were closed on Friday. He argued that vandals, rather than students, were responsible for the disruption, and said regional authorities plan to use surveillance footage and social media videos to identify people responsible for damage and bill them directly rather than taxpayers.

Government response

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu set up an interministerial crisis unit on October 1, according to French Wikipedia. Education Minister Édouard Geffray ordered that remote classes be offered where blockades or damage make in-person teaching unsafe, and announced plans for a consultation platform with unions and student associations. France 24 reported that Geffray described the movement as being hijacked by ultra-violent fringe groups.

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said prosecutors would pursue the parents of minors for repair costs and put the number of people taken into custody at around 2,000, according to France 24. The government has blamed the hard-left France Unbowed (La France insoumise) party for amplifying the unrest; party officials have rejected the accusation, according to France 24.

What students say

France 24 quoted a 16-year-old protester who said she considered the closure of her school a success, while also criticising police use of tear gas against demonstrators.