Symbolic imageFrench school protests go on despite government pledges
Students again blockaded schools and marched across France on Thursday. Unions have called a new national day of action for Tuesday.
The interior ministry counted 71,500 demonstrators on Thursday, 8 October, including 24,500 near Place de la Bastille in Paris, with further marches in Lille, Rennes, Nantes, Lyon, Toulon and Marseille. The movement began on 17 September at a high school in Créteil over teacher absences, crumbling buildings and overcrowded classrooms, and has since spread to hundreds of schools.
Government pledges
Education minister Édouard Geffray said 3,000 substitute teachers would reach about 100 high schools with acute shortages by Tuesday, and that he would authorise several hundred new hires. Prime minister Sébastien Lecornu promised 2027 budget amendments on teacher replacement.
Students demand more
Ryad Rani, president of one student union, said protesters heard no concrete measures. Sabrine Kharbach of another association said the protests would last until €10bn is on the table. An Elabe poll for BFM TV found 72% consider the demands legitimate, while 55% want the protests to stop.
Clashes and arrests
Riot police fired teargas and charged with batons in Paris and used water cannon in Rennes. The interior ministry reports more than 6,600 arrests since late September, and says arsonists attacked a police station in Bordeaux and a protester assaulted a teacher in Toulouse.