Students, teachers march in cities across France
Thousands of people – mainly high school pupils, university students and teachers – have begun marching in towns and cities across France as part of the movement’s fifth round of protests.
In Strasbourg, demonstrators gathered at Place Kléber, in the city centre, before setting off on a march.
Adeline Ferier, 42, a secondary school literature teacher and member of the SNES-FSU trade union, told AFP she was demonstrating “first and foremost in support of (her) 16-year-old daughter”.
“I think it’s great that young people are aware of inequalities and are taking action,” she said, while also expressing strong criticism of the replacement plan announced by Education Minister Édouard Geffray.
“You can’t have a budget with 1,500 fewer posts and then pretend to pull 3,000 posts out of a hat,” she said.
A march in Nantes on October 13, 2026. Credit: Stéphane Mahé, Reuters
In Nantes, several thousand people marched behind a banner reading “schools without funding, a country without a future”.
“I think there are a great many of us in France who remain motivated. It’s a misunderstanding of the movement to think that the anger will disappear once the holidays begin,” said Mariolino, a 16-year-old in his final year of secondary school.
Thunberg ‘extremely proud of French students’
The Swedish activist, wearing her trademark keffiyeh, has spoken to journalists gathered outside a high school in Saint-Denis, where more than a hundred students gathered early this morning to block the entrance.
“Young people aren’t being included in the discussions. Our future is being stolen from us and, as we’ve seen here, schools aren’t receiving the investment they need,” said the 23-year-old.
Greta Thunberg at the Lycée Paul Eluard in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. Credit: Julien de Rosa, AFP
“So, what are we supposed to do? Give up? Of course not. That is precisely what people are saying here: we are not going to give up and we are going to fight for this future that is being stolen from us right before our eyes,” she added, saying she was “extremely proud of French students”.
Education minister expects around 200 schools to remain shut
French authorities are hoping that the protests will start to ease ahead of half-term holidays.
“We should be at around … 200 schools closed, which is fewer than last week,” Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on France Inter earlier today, adding that some near protest routes were closing to avoid damage.
Geoffrey last week promised some 3,000 substitute teachers would be deployed in the coming days to replace absent staff at the 114 worst-affected high schools.
The education minister said that 35 percent had already been assigned. He also appeared to cast doubt on reports that some had been assigned to teach subjects other than the ones they were trained for.
In pictures: ‘Liberty guiding the students’
Students block the entrance to the Lycée Montaigne in the 6th arrondissement (district) of Paris.
A play on Delacroix’s iconic “Liberty Guiding the People”. Credit: Sarah Meyssonnier, Reuters
Pupils in more affluent areas of Paris have joined the protests in solidarity with those in run-down suburbs of the French capital, calling for equal opportunities for all. Credit: Sarah Meyssonnier, Reuters
Greta Thunberg joins France school protests
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has joined student protesters outside a blockaded high school in the Paris suburbs, boosting the visibility of the weeks-long movement.
The 23-year-old, who became famous as a teen for school strikes to demand action on climate change, stood among pupils demonstrating outside the Paul-Eluard high school in the capital’s largest suburb of Saint-Denis.
Will first government measures take the steam out of protests?
The French government has announced the urgent deployment of some 3,000 supply teachers to schools with the greatest staffing needs, after more than two weeks of sometimes violent nationwide student protests.
But where exactly are these teachers coming from? And will the move be enough to quell fresh protests, especially amid a renewed debate about overzealous policing tactics?
Absent teachers and dilapidated buildings
While most of the protests have been peaceful, students say they are determined to press the government to address the problems of too many absent teachers, dilapidated buildings, overcrowded class schedules and other grievances.
“Students aren’t being heard enough … not their proposals to authorities and elected officials,” a 19-year-old graphic design student in Paris, Leo, said.
France prepares for more nationwide protests
France readied on Tuesday for fresh nationwide demonstrations supporting students who have been protesting against poor classroom conditions for weeks, with authorities and participants wary of further violence.
The mobilisation, backed by unions and the far-left opposition France Unbowed party, was to include a march through Paris starting at 1200 GMT, along with marches in other cities.
On Monday, only 130 of France’s 3,700 lycees were closed, according to the education ministry, though it stated that, while “the number of school closures is falling … the violence is intensifying”.
Welcome to the France 24 liveblog covering the student protests in France. You can catch up on recent developments here.
