Limited French school protests resume as holidays end

PARIS

A person puts trash cans into a fire in front of the International highschool Montebello in Lille, northern France on November 2, 2026 as part of a nationwide blockade to ask for a 10 billion investment in education and higher education and the repeal of Parcoursup. (AFP Photo)

French students returning from autumn holidays blocked some high schools on Nov. 2, determined to reinvigorate a protest movement despite government concessions during the break.

Just 1 percent of France’s 3,700 high schools for 15 to 18-year-olds called lycees were blockaded, the education ministry said.

Pupils maintained their protest after hundreds of thousands of people, including students, took to the streets across France on Oct. 31 for a third consecutive weekend of demonstrations.

The cost-of-living rallies emerged after high school students launched nationwide demonstrations in September over learning conditions and inequality.

The government has announced measures, including changing the university admissions process, ensuring more teachers and capping the number of pupils per class.

But some students say it is not enough.

In the southern city of Marseille, several garbage bins were stacked in front of the entrance to one high school on Nov. 2 morning.

Education Minister Edouard Geffray told the France Inter radio station students should return to the classroom to avoid failing exams.

President Emmanuel Macron has called for classes to resume in a calm manner, arguing that “young people have been heard”.