French school protests resume on smaller scale after holiday break
French high school student protests resumed on Monday after a two-week break, but on a much smaller scale than before. The Education Ministry reported 41 blockaded schools nationwide.
Student protests in France resumed on Monday, 2 November, after a two-week school holiday, but on a far smaller scale than in previous weeks. According to French media, young people tried to blockade a number of high schools in Paris, Marseille and Rennes. The protests, which began in September, have turned to the cost of living and the state of the education system, and pose a test for the minority government of President Emmanuel Macron.
How many schools were affected
The Education Ministry said that by 08:30 GMT, 41 high schools were blockaded, roughly 1% of those across the country. Before the break, hundreds of France's more than 3,000 high schools had been blockaded.
In Marseille, several garbage bins were piled up in front of the entrance to one school. Sixteen-year-old Meriem told AFP the movement had restarted because the pupils had supposedly been given answers, but that it was clearly not enough.
The minister's assessment
Education Minister Edouard Geffray told the radio station France Inter that the blockade attempts were very marginal and involved only a handful of individual schools. He said protesting is allowed, but preventing access to schools is illegal. TV footage showed police present at the scenes, though not in full anti-riot gear.
Background to the protests
The protests started in the Paris suburbs, spread across the country, and drew in trade unionists and activists. At times they have turned violent. In October, clashes with police and riots broke out in several cities, with shops looted. Similar "Gen Z" protests have recently taken place in Germany, Italy, Belgium and Albania.
Students want aging schools renovated, more teachers, more university places and an end to a university admissions system they regard as socially unfair. Last week the minister offered to cap class sizes at 28, devote €4 billion to renovating schools, create 15,000 new places in higher education and introduce a new admissions system by 2028. Student representatives said the offers were not enough and that they would continue to protest.
