Dozens of high schools across France were blockaded again on Monday as the government braced for another tense week of protests over school conditions and the high cost of living.
Reported by:
Cherry Meigh Timbol
News Content Editor
Published November 3, 2026
PARIS – Students in France resumed blockades of high school entrances on Monday, the first day back after the All Saints’ holidays. Youth organizations have called for further mass blockades of schools and universities today.
According to the Education Ministry, 41 of roughly 3,700 lycées were blocked on Monday morning, and no disruption was reported in 75% of departments.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray described the disruption on France Inter as limited, saying a few schools were affected in the Paris region, the north and Toulouse. In central Marseille, stacked garbage containers blocked the entrance to the Lycée Montgrand. In Toulouse, students rebuilt blockades outside the Lycée Berthelot.
A 16-year-old student in Marseille told AFP the movement had restarted because the answers offered so far did not meet students’ demands.
The protests began in September over school conditions. Amnesty France dates the movement from September 21 and says students are demanding more teachers, smaller classes and decent buildings. On October 6, the Union Syndicale Lycéenne said 2,000 high schools were at a standstill. Police said they had detained more than 5,000 people in connection with the protests. CNN reported that more than 100 high schools had been damaged since the movement began. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu condemned “extreme violence” at school gates.
On the government side, Matignon said the prime minister asked the education minister to ensure a response for the 200 most troubled schools identified on a consultation platform. Lecornu has said he will meet student unions again next week. The education minister has warned that weeks without lessons put exams at risk.
For today, youth organizations have called for mass blockades of universities and lycées. Paris police issued an order banning a march planned by the collective Interfac Île-de-France through central Paris, which the collective intends to contest before the administrative court. Students and university students plan to join Thursday’s national day of mobilization on purchasing power, which is expected to bring together private-sector workers, civil servants and retirees.
Figures on blockades differ by source. The Union Syndicale Lycéenne has counted considerably more than the ministry for the current mobilization.
