Protestsupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 6 October 2026French Students Resume Smaller-Scale High School Blockades in Paris, Marseille, and Rennes
“some 41 high schools — about 1% of those nationwide — were blockaded”
“At its peak last weekend, organizers said a million people had taken to the streets.”
Photo: Guallendra, CC0 · Cropped for layout
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High schools in Paris, Marseille, Rennes attempted blockades as students resumed after holidays. Protests resumed on a smaller scale; around 1% of high schools blocked, per Education Ministry.
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Smaller blockades resume
French high school student protests resumed on Monday, November 2 on a much smaller scale than in past weeks as pupils returned from a two-week break. Students tried to blockade a few high schools in Paris, Marseille and Rennes, and the Education Ministry said that by 0830 GMT some 41 high schools, about 1% of those nationwide, were blockaded.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray told France Inter on Monday morning that the phenomenon was “very marginal,” adding that protests are allowed but preventing access to schools is illegal. The protests had begun in the Paris suburbs in September and had spread across France, broadening beyond education to focus on the cost of living and sometimes turning violent.
Calls for new dates
Student and high school organizations intended to continue the movement that had been underway for six weeks, while the executive said “the time for returning to class has come.” Pierre Sourzat, president of Les Lycéens!, announced on Sunday, “Of course we are calling for a blockade” and “high schools will be blocked starting Monday,” while the Union syndicale lycéenne and the Union étudiante called for new blockades on Tuesday and Thursday.
UNEF called on Saturday “to organize in all universities this Monday, November 2,” estimating that “Tuesday, November 3 should be a dark day for the universities,” with blockades of faculties and high schools across the country. The inter-union, regrouping USL, UNEF, Fage, and the Union étudiante, demanded notably a ten-billion-euro investment in education and higher education and the abrogation of Parcoursup.
Police, arrests, and inquiry
The Direction nationale de la sécurité publique consulted by AFP said police would reinforce their presence from Monday to secure educational establishments after violence observed during previous mobilizations. The Interior Ministry said Sunday that 779 people were arrested nationwide, and the French public prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary inquiry into suspicion of “attempted murder of public authorities,” linked to a Molotov cocktail thrown toward security forces in Paris.
Officials said the “explosive materials” targeted about 15 gendarmes in addition to police officers, and injuries included second-degree burns. As students prepared to resume school closures, Pierre Sorza said the pace of protests would rise from Tuesday, with some schools to begin closures on Monday, and he affirmed his group’s support for the students taking part.